Professor Blaize Horner Reich came to academia after 15 years as an information technology (IT) professional and consultant to industry in both Canada and Asia. She was Dean of the Beedie School of Business at SFU from 2014 to 2015 and holds the title RBC Professor of Technology and Innovation. Reich and her research group  have been awarded several national Social Science and Humanities Research Council grants to explore ways to improve the success of IT-enabled business projects. She collaborates with colleagues on topics in mobile technology, IT service quality, and IT governance and risk management. Dr. Reich is the Advisory Board Chair for RADIUS, the Beedie School social innovation initative, and is the founding academic leader and national advisory board member of the Business Technology Management program, an initiative of the Information and Technology Association of Canada (www.itac.ca)

Dr. Reich currently serves on two corporate boards (BCAA and Central 1), two association boards (New Ventures BC Society and Project Management Institute Academic Advisory Group) and the Vancouver Opera Association board.

Reich’s interest in innovation and entrepreneurship extends to investing in technology companies started by friends and Canadians on Kickstarter but she is still waiting for her first big windfall.