The challenges facing an IT leader in 2025 call for a new kind of approach. One that favours partnerships over transactions, collaboration over competition, and centres people rather than technology for technology’s sake. These perspectives ring especially true in an organisation like the York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB). It emphasises values like “service, community, collaboration, and fait rather than academic excellence alone,” explains Scott Morrow, YCDSB’s Chief Information Officer (CIO). “It’s not actually about the technology; it’s about enablement.”
We spoke with Morrow to learn more about his approach to IT leadership. From building and maintaining a team amid the IT talent crisis, to driving digital transformation initiatives across the organisation. And broader strategic objectives across a changing technology landscape increasingly defined by cybersecurity and the rise of AI.
Meet Scott Morrow
Morrow’s fresh perspective on IT leadership isn’t all that surprising when you learn about his roots and the journey that brought him to YCDSB.
He grew up in a small town just north of Toronto with parents who worked in medicine and education. “My dad was actually the principal of my elementary school. My brother was a principal and became an associate superintendent. My sister’s a teacher. My dad became a superintendent as well,” he recalls. “Education has always been our life — the family business if you will”
After attending Queen’s University, Morrow attended the Royal Military College of Canada. He went on to work as a software engineer and a maritime engineer. He spent time training on ships and submarines. His last posting was at a military senior staff training base in Kingston, where he was put in charge of the technology projects. “I never really looked back from the project management perspective. I absolutely loved it,” he says. “The initial lessons I learned there are things that I’ve carried with me through my entire career.”
“We’re not just building systems; we’re building trust” — Scott Morrow, CIO, YCDSB
Morrow has carried these lessons — technology as an enabler, the value of relationships, and the value of data and security — into his IT leadership roles across public sector organisations and school boards throughout Ontario. Starting in the City of Barrie as a project manager, Morrow moved to the Simcoe Muskoka Catholic District School Board as the senior manager of technology.
At the same time, he became president of SCAN—the Simcoe Community Access Network—a non-profit that brought internet services to Simcoe County about 50 years ago and today is heavily involved in joint procurement and similar initiatives. “That was my introduction to working in non-profits,” he recalls. “When I became the CIO of the YCDSB, I also joined the board of directors for the Ontario Association of School Business Officials—OASBO, for short. I eventually became president, and I’m still on the executive committee.”
Moving from public sector administration into Ontario’s community of Catholic school boards also came with its share of changes. “I remember going from the City of Barrie to Simcoe Muskoka Catholic, and it had a totally different feel,” he says. “It’s not as competitive. At the City, I had 18 different departments fighting for budget. At the school board, you start the meeting with a prayer—it helps provide perspective, and reminds us that our focus is always on the students.”