Biography

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Dr. Veena Rawat has been the President of the Communications Research Centre Canada (CRC) since 2004. The CRC, an agency of Industry Canada, is responsible for conducting applied research and development in radiocommunications, broadcasting and information technologies. CRC employs 400 staff including 230 scientists and engineers. It has a total annual budget in the range of $45M.

Dr. Rawat has 34 years of senior management experience with Industry Canada. Before joining CRC in 2003 as Executive Vice-President, she managed Industry Canada programs related to spectrum engineering, standards development, access to spectrum for new radio services, and technical regulatory issues for all radio services.

Dr. Rawat has extensive experience working with senior officials of Canadian and international organizations (e.g. CITEL/OAS, APT, CEPT, ITU). She has led Canadian delegations and negotiations at the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), a specialized agency of the United Nations, as well as CITEL, a constituent entity of the Organization of American States. In addition, she has led teams negotiating with U.S. government organizations including the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. This included co-chairing the Canada-U.S. Committee to negotiate spectrum use along the border, from the mid-nineties to 2003.

In 2003, she became the first woman to chair the World Radiocommunication (WRC) Conference of the ITU, where issues impacting billions of investment dollars in the communications industry are addressed. The Secretary-General of the ITU awarded Dr. Rawat a gold medal for her chairmanship.

Dr. Rawat has chaired many regional, national and international technical committees and working groups addressing matters related to the development of standards and regulations for radiocommunications technologies and services. She currently chairs ITU-R Study Group 4 examining issues related to the efficient use of spectrum and orbit for all satellite services and their applications, ranging from emergency telecommunications to the provision of broadband connectivity. She has also represented Canada on a number of bilateral groups advancing joint science and technology (S&T) agendas, including the Canada-India Joint S&T Cooperation Committee. She is currently the Canadian Government R&D representative on this steering committee.

Her work has garnered her much recognition both nationally and internationally, including the Canadian Women in Communications (CWC) Woman of the Year Award, and the International Leadership in Government Award from the Wireless Communications Association International in the U.S.

Her efforts and contributions have led to a significant increase in the representation and recognition of women in leadership roles in national and international organizations. She continues to be involved in activities that encourage and increase the number of women in science and technology.