Wilbur Turner

Sometimes I ask myself "Who am I?" Have you ever done that? I'm a farm boy from the Alberta prairies and grew up near a town named Vermilion, that's right, with one "l". It turns out the intrigue I had with typewriters and the Gestetner press at school was a hint of my love for technology. I got my very first Tandy computer in the 1980's. The operating system was on a floppy disk. The first wordprocessor I used was a computer all on its own that sat on a floor beside the desk at work. It had a special ruler for measuring margins and fonts. We've come a long way since and I'm sure we will all still be astounded by the advances yet to come in technology.

In 1989 I left a full time job to go back to school and learn about computer programing and systems analysis. That had a profound effect on my career. I took on managing the computer support for all of the Alberta Credit Unions and assisted in conversion from a strictly mainframe banking system to a distributed computing concept harnessing the power of desktop computers. That was a breakthrough in technology. Following that I launched a consulting firm with three partners. We took on projects related to technology and business process improvement working with large multi-national companies. I was then hired by one of my consulting customers to develop sales and customer support processes and eventually took on the role of VP Sales and customer support. As a senior exec for this high tech company I have worked with customers in global Fortune 500 companies to help them achieve success.

I believe we are on the ground floor of what is achievable through technology to positively impact climate change and diversify our global economy.

On an outside of "work" level I am passionate about supporting youth who identify outside of the "norm", providing them with a safe environment to be authentic and realize their immense worth in a rapidly changing world. I am also a community builder with Okanagan Pride and Pride organizations across Canada helping to build safe and accepting communities for all LGBTQ people.