Sean
Canady
Technology Officer — VP-level
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/scanady
GitHub: github.com/scanady
Location: Tampa, Florida
Profile
Thirty years leading technology across strategy, architecture, delivery, infrastructure, data, and AI. The throughline has stayed consistent: connect technology direction to the business, modernize with discipline, and build teams that can turn change into results. A lot of that work has been in life insurance and other complex environments where resilience, follow-through, and practical judgment matter every day.
30+
Years Technology Leadership
Across strategy, architecture, delivery, innovation, and modernization
$40M+
Active Technology Portfolio
Spanning platforms, data, infrastructure, security, and AI
150+
Technology Team
Across architecture, data, infrastructure, security, and delivery
15+
Years in Life Insurance Technology
Deep experience in regulated enterprise environments
Themes
Recognized for solid strategic view and clear direction for technology teams
Noted for high level of ethical and professional behavior
Praised for solid, useful communication style and reasonable expectations
Known for working independently and delivering results consistently
Experience
New York Life Insurance Company
15 years 9 months
VP-level technology executive reporting to the Division CIO. Responsible for unifying AI, architecture, infrastructure, and modernization into one technology agenda for NYL Direct — a $43M portfolio spanning 157 technology professionals.
- Oversees $43M technology portfolio and leads 157 technology professionals across architecture, data, infrastructure, security, and delivery
- Established AI governance and responsible AI guardrails for the division
- Led AI adoption across GitHub Copilot, agent workflows, and supporting architecture — enabling 80 developers under a governance-first model
- Designed a multi-platform AI reference architecture spanning Vertex AI, Bedrock, Copilot Studio, and LangSmith
- Set the hybrid compute direction for cost, resilience, and operational fit
- Advanced modernization and new business capabilities while keeping the portfolio self-funded
- Kept cybersecurity, infrastructure, and regulatory readiness connected to platform decisions
- Aligned technology planning with the business priorities of the division
- Set software development standards for teams working with AI-assisted tools
Led architecture and data management across a long stretch of modernization work, building standards, governance, and integration patterns that teams could use in practice.
- Built the enterprise architecture practice across application, data, integration, and infrastructure domains
- Led data management strategy across warehousing, governance, and analytics
- Set technology standards and governance that held up under real delivery pressure
- Guided legacy modernization without losing sight of business continuity
- Built and led architecture and data management teams through major change
AEGON
9 years 7 months
Led integration strategy during a major modernization phase, using ACORD standards, event-driven patterns, and SOA governance to make distributed systems easier to connect and change.
- Led enterprise integration strategy using ACORD standards
- Pushed event-driven architecture and real-time data delivery into practical use
- Directed SOA adoption and governance across distributed teams
- Delivered integration capabilities that helped the business modernize without more point-to-point sprawl
Bridged business objectives and long-term architecture direction, helping teams modernize legacy platforms without losing the thread between strategy and delivery.
- Defined architecture direction in step with enterprise priorities
- Put SOA standards in place to support modernization work
- Guided platform implementation and legacy modernization efforts
- Helped cross-functional teams stay aligned on the technology direction
Managed middleware technology platform and team, supporting enterprise application integration and messaging infrastructure across the organization.
- Managed enterprise middleware platform supporting business-critical applications
- Led middleware team through multiple technology evolution cycles
- Established integration patterns and standards for distributed systems
ECI Software Solutions
3 years 9 months
Built and ran IT operations for a growing ERP/CRM firm, from infrastructure to applications, while helping the product and the business scale.
- Built IT operations and infrastructure from the ground up
- Supported development of data-driven applications for the business
- Kept production stable, secure, and available as the company grew
- Helped the product and delivery model scale through better infrastructure and customization support
- Contributed to the technical foundation behind the company's acquisition and growth
TRADE'ex Electronic Commerce Systems, Inc.
3 months
Early career eCommerce development during the emergence of web-based commerce.
Utility Partners
1 year 4 months
Managed systems administration and IT infrastructure operations.
Recommendations
“I was a project manager when Sean and I first worked together directly. At this time, he is one of my customers as a Relationship Manager for AEGON's internal IT department. Sean provides good direction and has a solid strategic view of where he wants his team to go in the future. I enjoyed working with Sean. I find Sean to be intelligent, personable, hard-working and dedicated. Sean is a customer with reasonable expectations and a solid, useful communications style.”
Elizabeth Boyle, PMP
Worked with Sean on different teams
“Sean demonstrates a high level of ethical and professional behavior that I had the benefit of observing. Sean works independently in a successful manner without fail from my experience.”
John Sage, PMP, CSM
Managed Sean directly
Education
Bachelors in Information Systems
Eckerd College
Certifications
The Data Scientist's Toolbox
Johns Hopkins University
Customer Analytics
University of Pennsylvania
People Analytics
University of Pennsylvania
Managing Data Analysis
Johns Hopkins University
Operations Analytics
University of Pennsylvania
A Crash Course in Data Science
Johns Hopkins University
Introduction to Platform Engineering
PlatformEngineering.org
Google AI Professional Certificate
SAFe (Scaled Agile Framework) Program Consultant (SPC)
Scaled Agile, Inc.
Strategic Impact
Transformation outcomes delivered across four pillars of technology leadership
AI & Data Transformation
Moved AI from experimentation into day-to-day delivery by pairing governance with practical adoption across engineering and business teams.
Hybrid Compute Strategy
Shaped a hybrid compute model that balances speed, cost, resilience, and what the business actually needs.
Legacy Modernization
Led long-horizon modernization of core life insurance platforms while keeping the business running and the customer experience improving.
Enterprise Architecture & Integration
Built an architecture practice that gave teams clearer standards, better integration patterns, and room to modernize without improvising every decision.
Cybersecurity & Regulatory Readiness
Kept infrastructure and security decisions grounded in resilience, regulatory expectations, and the realities of running a financial services platform.