Pythian CEO Paul Vallée Recognized as Diversity Champion of the Year by WCT

• Pythian's "Pythia Program" puts the spotlight on gender diversity in the workplace

OTTAWA, Feb. 23, 2016 /CNW/ - Pythian, a 400-person global IT services company that helps companies compete by adopting disruptive technologies, announced today that CEO Paul Vallée has been named "Diversity Champion of the Year" by Women in Communications and Technology (WCT).

The annual WCT Leadership Excellence Awards recognize twelve leaders and achievers in the digital economy for their efforts to advance and inspire women in technology and communications.

"I would like to thank WCT for this meaningful award," said Paul Vallée, Pythian's CEO. "There is a real need for diversity in the workplace in the tech industry, and we have a lot of work to do. Real change requires effort from everyone and I'm especially pleased that the Pythian team shares this vision and acts on it, with HR programs that encourage diversity and many members of our company actively participating as mentors to young women in tech."

In November 2015 Pythian launched the Pythia Project, a corporate initiative designed to increase the percentage of talented women who work and thrive at Pythian, especially in tech roles. A new metric called the "Pythia Index" was also introduced. It measures the proportion of people in a business, or in a team, who are women leaders or report to a woman leader. Pythian was also the first Canadian tech company to release its gender stats, and invite other Canadian tech companies to join in the battle against "bro culture".

As part of the Pythia program, Pythian is currently one of the corporate sponsors for Technovation, an international competition to create mobile applications, fostering technology and entrepreneurial abilities among female students aged 10 to 18. This includes weekly mentoring and team meetings with the participating students.

"By creating opportunities for women who aspire to move into leadership roles, Pythian and the Pythia project demonstrate how great corporate initiatives can make a difference," says Joanne Stanley, executive director of WCT. "An important part of WCT's vision is to help other companies do the same."

About Pythian
Founded in 1997, Pythian is a 400-person global IT services company that helps companies compete by adopting disruptive technologies such as  advanced analytics, big data,  cloud, databases, DevOps, and infrastructure management to advance innovation and increase agility. Specializing in designing, implementing, and managing systems that directly contribute to revenue growth and business success, Pythian's highly skilled technical teams work as an integrated extension of our clients' organizations to deliver continuous transformation and uninterrupted operational excellence.

About Canadian Women in Communications and Technology
Women in Communications and Technology (WCT) is a not-for-profit organization - an association of women who work in the communications, digital media and technology sectors. With the help of our sponsors, we are committed to creating jobs and advancing women in their careers by facilitating a Canadian network of industry support and recognition, leadership and skills development, and mentoring.

SOURCE Pythian

Lesley Slack, Pythian, 613-807-0948, [email protected]