Tony Gaffney

Tony Gaffney is a globally respected CEO and corporate director whose career spans industry, artificial intelligence, sovereign AI infrastructure and services, digital transformation, and large-scale enterprise leadership across the public, private, and non-profit sectors. He is one of the few leaders worldwide to have combined CEO roles in both an advanced-technology research institution (Vector AI Institute) and multi-billion-dollar enterprises, supported by deep expertise across emerging technologies and extensive governance experience in complex, regulated industries. 

Most recently, Tony served as CEO of the Vector Institute, one of the world’s foremost AI institutes and a pillar of Canada’s national AI strategy. Under his leadership, Vector advanced its global research stature, deepened industry partnerships, expanded AI talent development, and accelerated responsible AI adoption across financial services, health care, telecommunications, technology, and other critical sectors. He engaged directly with federal, provincial, and territorial governments; global AI safety institutes; and international research organizations to strengthen Canada’s position as a trusted and innovative AI nation.

Across prior CEO and senior executive roles—including BCE Emergis, Bell Nexxia, Aon Hewitt Canada, SHL Europe, Accenture, and MCI Telecommunications—Tony led major digital, cloud, and data transformations; operational turnarounds; and mission-critical technology-enabled service platforms. His leadership includes P&L accountability ranging from $50M to $3B and operational oversight across North America, the U.K. and Europe, and support to the Asia Pacific region. 

Tony holds an ICD.D from Rotman, an engineering degree (B.A.I.) and M.A. from Trinity College Dublin, and executive studies at MIT in Human–Computer Interaction.