VOTI Detection™ Leadership Team
Rory Olson – President & Chief Executive Officer
Rory is an accomplished entrepreneur and executive with a proven track record of success having founded, restructured, and operated numerous organizations from start-up stage to mature public companies.
As CEO at VOTI Detection, Rory has revitalized the company, operating in a rapidly growing $1.8B global security market and delivering 700% revenue growth within just 2 years, setting it on a path for accelerated growth and profitability.
Rory held previous COO roles at multiple companies including: Mpact Immedia, CBO, BCE Emergis, CEO, Surefire Commerce.
Rory holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from Concordia University.
Kevin McGarr, MSM, MBA – Advisor to the President & CEO
Kevin is a seasoned president with invaluable expertise and experience in both the security and law enforcement sectors. He previously served as President and CEO of the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority overseeing the development and implementation of security screening programs, and corporate strategy.
He was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal, by the Governor-General in recognition for this work to combat organized crime and served as the VP of KPMG Forensic inc. where he was responsible for the detection and prevention of corporate and financial malfeasance.
Kevin holds a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from the John Molson School of Business of Concordia University.
William Awad, M.Eng. – Founder & CTO
William has over twenty years of experience in research and development, electronics design, and manufacturing.
As VOTI Detection’s founder, he invented the pioneering 3D PerspectiveTM Technology behind all our systems, and as CTO he continues to innovate and evolve our leading solutions for security screening.
Before founding VOTI, William was President and CEO of LPS International, a technology firm specializing in business applications and video security systems.
William holds a TS from from CIT and a Master’s in Electrical Engineering.
Charles Garneau – Chief Operations & Production Officer
Charles is an experienced technology executive with a strong reputation for leading world-class Hardware & Software design, NPI, Manufacturing and Maintenance-Support engineering teams.
He is an expert in many levels of system designs management, strategic engineering and global operations, software/hardware engineering and a recognised inventor holding 18 unique patents. Charles is known for delivering high ROI, strategic value products to global markets with dispersed teams at all levels of operations, production and logistics.
Peter Diedrich, MEng, SM, P.Eng., ICD.D – Chief Financial Officer
Peter brings his 30+ years of experience in technology and growth companies from startup to mid-stage and large enterprise in North America, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East.
He has held senior leadership roles as an engineer, strategist, and C-suite executive in companies including McKinsey, Nortel, BCE, RBC Royal Bank. Peter is known for his passion and persistence: he gets the job done by creating desired outcomes, not just managing the inputs.
Peter holds Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Electrical Engineering from Carleton University as well as a Master of Science in Management from the MIT Alfred P. Sloan School of Management. He is a registered Professional Engineer in Ontario.
Richard Shatilla, B.Com. – Vice President, Global Sales
Richard garnered extensive sales and marketing experience with companies such as Xerox and Domaine Global Solutions before taking on the role of VP Global Sales & Marketing here at VOTI Detection.
With 10 years of leadership in strategic roles, he brings extensive experience to our team. He focuses on sales and business development, as well as growing our sales division both locally and internationally.
Richard holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree with a focus in Marketing from the John Molson School of Business at Concordia University.
Ben Wagner – Vice President, Product Strategy and Marketing
Ben is an accomplished product and strategy marketing executive with over 30 years in global product management,strategic planning, business development and new market entry.
Prior to joining VOTI Detection™, Ben held senior executive positions at Texas Instruments, InTech USA, Alcatel and Siemens where he managed high margin, high revenue portfolios and successfully deployed biometric security, telecommunications, semiconductor and ICT solutions while developing company strategy and business plans contributing to significant growth.
Ben holds a bachelor’s degree from McGill University in Electrical Engineering.
