B.A.Sc., M.A.Sc., Ph.D. (UofT), P.Eng., FCAE
Executive Director The Centre for Management of Technology and Entrepreneurship Professor, Dept. of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto
Contact
Phone: (416) 978-6924 ext 1
Fax: (416) 978-3877
Email: paradi@mie.utoronto.ca
Research Areas
Efficiency, Productivity and effectiveness research in the financial services industries, focus on banking stock markets and telecommunications systems. Software productivity, management and profitability.
Consulting Activity
Top management issues in software and services industry productivity domains.
About
Joseph C. Paradi is a very experienced senior information technology expert. Dr. Paradi was the founder of Dataline Inc. in 1968. The company was financed with a $2.7 million dollar public underwriting of shares (1969). The Company grew from there to a 25 million dollar, large Canadian computer services company. Over 180 professionals distributed Dataline’s service offerings across Canada and in most other major financial centers around the globe. The international network supported over 5,500 real time terminals. The system and network delivered sub-second response to stock traders, bankers, investment managers and others who needed instant information. Dr. Paradi sold the company to a U.S. firm in late 1987 and left in January 1989 after 20 years at the helm and joined the University of Toronto as a Professor.
He also is the founder of Parcorp Ltd., a company started for the purpose of investing in, nurturing and facilitating the growth of small Canadian high tech companies. He has also started several other companies: a specialized technology consulting firm; two firms based on intellectual properties developed at the University of Toronto (DesignCo Inc. and Translucent Technologies Inc.); and a joint venture in Hungary. He is the director and part owner of other high tech firms as well. He is an entrepreneur and has consulted to several startups and high-tech initiatives.
His consulting activities include work with the Montreal Stock Exchange, CN Pension Fund, TD Bank, Royal Bank, Bank of Montreal and others. Productivity, efficiency and effectiveness in the services industries are the major focus of his consulting interests. This includes the examination of productivity measures for independent Decision Making Units (“DMU”) within an organisation: software development teams, branch employees and management, loan portfolio lending teams, credit rating of corporate loans etc. This area of the work involves Data Envelopment Analysis (“DEA”) methodologies and modelling of the DMUs. The list of DEA application areas includes the study of engineering teams in a communications carrier; evaluation of the performance of mutual fund managers over time; productivity based prediction of corporate failure of public companies; performance evaluations of the Property & Casualty Insurance industry; Efficiency study of the Life insurance industry; and the study of Credit Unions’ economic performance in Ontario.
We have a deep interest in the rapidly emerging e-Commerce field, specifically in the on-line banking segment and in the arbitrated commerce area. This work comprises of the development of e-Commerce strategies in an on-line market where both buyer and seller “deal” simultaneously. Much work is oriented towards the understanding of the underlying mechanisms and inherent technological and human factors issues.
Dr. Paradi has always been very active in industry affairs and in the community. He was a member of the Board of Directors of CADAPSO (the Canadian Association of Data Processing Organisations) for 15 years, its Chairman twice (three years in total) and Chairman of most of its subcommittees at one time or another. He was active in the Information Industry Association of the U.S. He is also member of IIE, AUTM, LES, INFORMS, IEEE and PARN. and The Metropolitan Toronto Board of Trade.
Complete CV available upon request..