Alec Campbell, CIPP/C, CIPT, FIP, MAPP

Principal Consultant

Alec Campbell is Excela's founder, president and principal consultant.  Alec has been involved in the administration of freedom of information and privacy legislation since 1993. He was among the first freedom of information and privacy coordinators for the Government of Alberta.  He held directorships with privacy responsibilities in both the Government of Alberta and Alberta’s Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner. In the Commissioner’s office, he led the development of its privacy impact assessment standards of 2001 and later assisted in the development of the subsequent 2010 standards as a consultant.

Alec is known as the father of the University of Alberta's Information Access and Protection of Privacy Program, which he proposed in 1999.  He obtained support for the program from the university, provincial government and Information and Privacy Commissioner's office. He also secured the program's start-up funding and assisted the Faculty of Extension in its establishment and course development. The program has since graduated hundreds of students and won multiple awards for academic excellence.

From 2001 to 2006, Alec was responsible for information technology privacy in the Office the Chief Information Officer of the Government of Alberta (GoA). He was responsible for policy, procedures, and privacy impact assessments for information technology operations in the government. In that capacity he also led the development of a semi-automated privacy assessment toolset and a government-wide, award-winning privacy architecture.

Alec left the Government of Alberta to found Excela Associates Inc. in 2006.

Alec's privacy certifications include the following:

International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP):

  • Certified Information Privacy Professional, Canada (CIPP/C)

  • Certified Information Privacy Technologist (CIPT)

  • Fellow of Information Privacy (FIP)

Privacy and Access Council of Canada (PACC):

  • Master Access and Privacy Professional (MAPP)

Senior Associate Consultants

Excela is associated with other companies and individual consultants who can supplement Excela's services on an as-needed basis. Excela does the same for them. All our associates are highly experienced professionals.

Mike Gurski

Mike has been involved in privacy administration at senior levels since 2000.  He served as the Senior Policy and Technology Advisor to Ontario’s  Information and Privacy Commissioner (IPC), where he was actively involved in national and international initiatives related to privacy-enhancing technology, privacy standards, privacy impact assessment and other technology policy issues.  After leaving the office of the IPC, Mike was the founding director of Bell Canada’s privacy consulting service, the Bell Privacy Centre of Excellence.  His team provided privacy consulting services to enterprise clients including governments, hospitals, universities, and private sector companies. Upon his retirement from Bell, Excela was fortunate to engage Mike as a senior associate consultant, in which capacity he has provided senior analytical support to PIA projects and both supported and led privacy policy projects.

Ingrid Ruys

Ingrid Ruys is a privacy and security expert, with over 20 years experience in both public and private sectors.  Ingrid is the Privacy Adviser for the Alberta Medical Association and was formerly the Chief Privacy Officer for Alberta’s Physician Office System Program. She holds her Master Access and Privacy (MAPP) certification, is a Canadian Information and Access Privacy Professional (CIAPP), and has experience addressing USA Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) matters. A recognized expert in privacy impact assessments for the healthcare sector, Ingrid has written a myriad of successful PIAs for clinics and vendors across Canada. She has also enabled the conformance of over 50 EMR  vendors for dental, optometry, chiropractor, and pharmacy practices. Vendor solutions have included numerous medical specializations, such as patient portals, secure mail, and waiting room applications.

Brian Hamilton

Brian Hamilton is a seasoned expert in access and privacy compliance, with over 15 years' experience.  Formerly the Director of Compliance and Special Investigations in Alberta's Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner, he is a recognized expert in privacy impact assessment, health informatics privacy, incident response and privacy breach investigation.  Brian can provide advice on all aspects of the application of access and privacy legislation, information technology and information security. He is a certified information security professional and information systems auditor.

George Alvarez

George Alvarez has overseen and delivered privacy and freedom of information services since 1996, as the Director of an Information and Privacy Office serving several provincial government departments in Alberta. Most recently he led the development and implementation of an information sharing strategy that involved multiple government departments and their stakeholders and partners, including municipal and non-profit organizations. George has been a speaker on managing privacy and information sharing at numerous engagements and conferences, both local and national.