OTTAWA, September 25, 2008 -- The CATA Women in Technology (WIT) Forum announced the selection of five women who will take part in The Leadership Forum starting this week, a prestigious EMBA program at the University of Ottawa designed to hone the skills of Ottawa's next generation of chief executive officers.

The Leadership Forum is a series of seminars held over a two-year period (2008/2009) where seasoned and successful business leaders help executives prepare for business leadership. Led by the region's highly respected and accomplished business leaders, the interactive sessions of The Leadership Forum will explore complex business issues from diverse and yet complementary perspectives. This year's sponsors are CATAAlliance, Cognos/IBM, Minto Corp, Ottawa Business Journal, PriceWaterhouse Coopers, and Scotiabank.

The CATA WIT Forum's mandate to increase women's participation and advancement in the high-growth technology sector across Canada and the University's commitment to fostering the development of more female chief executive officers have made The Leadership Forum a success. Both organizations recognize the importance of diversity and the need for a mixture of skill sets at the executive table.

The individuals selected by the CATA WIT Forum are:

• Dale Gantous, CEO, InGenius
• Kelly Kubrick, Principal, OnLine Authority
• Mary Van Buren, President, Practice Solutions Web Services
• Lynda Partner, President, InTouch Survey Systems
• Teresa Griffin-Muir, Vice President, Regulatory, MTS Allstream

CATA Women in Technology Forum forms partnerships with companies, educational institutions and governments to create programs to attract and retain women in technology and high growth companies which are vital to Canada's prosperity and global competitiveness.

Cindy Gordon, CEO, Helix Commerce, is the first keynote speaker of the Leadership Forum and also national Chair of the CATA WIT Forum." The University of Ottawa's tremendous EMBA program offers the opportunity for talented women leaders to hone their leadership skills to lead and create companies in the technology sector."

Ella Mar, an executive consultant who is a past attendee of the Leadership Forum, co-Chair of the Ottawa chapter for CATA WIT Forum and previous Senior Vice President Operations at Espial Group recognizes the importance of professional development for women in ICT. "CATA WIT Forum was created to provide women working in the technology sector mentoring, and professional development along with networking opportunities to help them in their career advancement. It's a real plus for the Canadian high tech sector to tap into some of the extremely talented women that are growing into these positions. Leadership skills training, including programs such as the University of Ottawa's Leadership forum, are great enablers for the kind of personal development needed to help more women become successful entrepreneurs and CEOs."

About The CATA WIT Forum
The CATA Women in Technology (WIT) Forum is a national network designed to boost women's participation and advancement in the technology sector. The Canadian Advanced Technology Alliance (CATA) created the WIT Forum to provide opportunities for mentoring, networking, professional development and advocacy for women in the high tech sector. http://www.catawit.ca

About The Leadership Forum
The Leadership Forum provides an opportunity for a group of elite executives to leverage the talent and experience of the most sought after business minds in Ottawa. Led by the region's highly respected and accomplished business leaders, the interactive sessions of The Leadership Forum will explore complex business issues from diverse and yet complementary perspectives. http://www.telfer.uottawa.ca/content/category/31/148/198/lang,En/

For more information:

Peter Cleveland
University of Ottawa EMBA
Tel: (613) 564-3868
Mobile: (613) 371-0516
clevelandleadershipgroup@rogers.com
Cleveland@telfer.uottawa.ca

Joanne Stanley,
Vice President, Marketing
CATAAlliance
Tel: 236-6550
jstanley@cata.ca