Zaina Sovani is a leader, mentor, and speaker with over two decades of experience helping individuals and organizations navigate change and achieve their goals. Drawing from her lived experience as a woman, woman of color, and refugee who broke barriers in male-dominated spaces, Zaina provides practical, empathetic guidance for overcoming challenges and advancing leadership.
As a former Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Information Officer at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Zaina led one of the department’s largest transformation programs, improving client experiences, streamlining operations, and driving digital innovation. She has held executive roles across the federal government, including the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), Shared Services Canada (SSC), and the Canadian Commercial Corporation (CCC), where she led initiatives to modernize operations and implement innovative technologies. A skilled digital strategist, Zaina combines technical expertise with strategic insight to deliver measurable results.
Zaina holds an MBA from the University of Ottawa and certifications in Digital Strategy from Harvard and UC Berkeley. Through coaching, workshops, and keynote presentations, she helps clients overcome barriers, embrace change, and create lasting impact in their organizations and communities.
Zaina has contributed significantly to her community, serving on boards such as Hydro Ottawa, The Ottawa Hospital, the Children’s Aid Society of Ottawa, and United Way Centraide. In these roles, she offered governance leadership and strategic advice on business transformation, showcasing her commitment to community engagement and leadership development.
She has spoken at global forums on leadership, digital transformation, and managing complexity, inspiring audiences with her actionable insights.
In recognition of her outstanding contributions to digital transformation in Canada, Zaina was awarded the King Charles Coronation Medal in 2025.
Zaina guides executives step by step through strategy development, stakeholder engagement, implementation, and navigating governance processes, drawing from her extensive and varied experience. Having successfully led transformative initiatives herself, she understands the challenges and nuances leaders face and provides practical, actionable guidance to overcome them. Zaina’s greatest assets are her first-hand experience and her extensive professional networks, which she leverages as a coach to connect clients with resources, insights, and benchmarks that elevate their leadership and organizational impact.
Zaina has mentored hundreds of Government of Canada executive leaders, as well as senior leaders in the private sector and civil society. She has guided rising stars in government, helping them hone their leadership skills and advance their careers. Her mentorship is deeply rooted in her lived experiences and a commitment to fostering the next generation of transformative leaders.
Zaina is a sought-after speaker, inspiring audiences with her story as a woman of colour and immigrant breaking the glass ceiling in executive leadership. She has spoken at prominent events, including We Day Ottawa, the AWS Public Sector Symposium in Ottawa, and the Elevate Women National Conference, among others. Zaina also regularly addresses women’s leadership conferences, sharing actionable insights on resilience, purpose, and driving meaningful change.
Zaina Sovani is an executive consultant available for strategic advisory work, with deep expertise in digital transformation, organizational change, and public sector modernization. She has led and advised on complex transformation initiatives across key Government of Canada departments—including National Defence, Global Affairs, ISED, the Parole Board, and Shared Services Canada. As an Executive Advisor to Deloitte, Zaina partners with organizations to develop funding strategies, implementation roadmaps, governance models, and performance frameworks that drive real results. Zaina is a highly sought-after consultant and is selectively taking on new mandates with organizations committed to meaningful transformation.
Zaina Sovani is dedicated to fostering leadership, driving transformation, and shaping meaningful change. Whether you are seeking strategic insights, collaboration opportunities, or thought leadership on navigating complex challenges, your inquiry is welcomed.