Paul Giroux receives Esri Canada’s Making a Difference Award

October 27, 2026

Innovation leader recognized for advancing enterprise data and organizational transformation using GIS, Slimgim, SlimDnA and the maturity method

Key points

Esri Canada is recognizing Paul Giroux with its Making a Difference Award for his impact on his organization, the broader industry and the geographic information system (GIS) community.

Paul has helped advance enterprise GIS by positioning location and enterprise data as a foundation for organizational transformation, operational modernization and evidence-based decision-making.

Through Slimgim and his methods, Paul has helped practitioners assess their organizational readiness, identify barriers to change, build enterprise strategic roadmaps and connect with peers facing similar challenges.

TORONTO—October 27, 2026—Esri Canada congratulates Paul Giroux, innovation officer at Greater Sudbury Utilities (GSU), on receiving the Esri Canada Making a Difference Award for his contributions to advancing enterprise geographic information systems (GIS) and enterprise data as foundations for organizational transformation and data-driven decision-making. Presented at the 2026 Esri Canada User Conference in Toronto on October 22, the award honours leaders who use location intelligence and GIS to create meaningful impact for their organization, industry and the broader community.

“Paul exemplifies what the Making a Difference Award is about,” said Alex Miller, president, Esri Canada. “He has helped show that GIS is not just about maps. It’s about connecting data across the enterprise so organizations can have an effective decision support system to clearly understand their operations, act with confidence and deliver better outcomes. His generosity in sharing Slimgim and his maturity method has also helped strengthen the GIS community by giving professionals a practical way to advance geospatial maturity and organizational transformation.”

Paul has spent his career helping organizations turn GIS and enterprise data into capabilities that connect people, processes and technology. At GSU, he has led the integration of GIS into utility and telecom operations, planning and asset management, helping establish the foundation for more integrated and data-driven ways of managing infrastructure, assets and services. Paul has also helped modernize operations through web and mobile GIS workflows that make spatial data more accurate and accessible throughout the organization. Alongside a strong team, he is leading the utility’s move toward a fully integrated and data-aware enterprise GIS environment, creating a scalable, sustainable architecture to support future integrations and business requirements.

“We talked a lot about wanting to become a data-driven organization, but I don't think we really knew what that meant in practical terms,” said Shannon Restoule, president and CEO, GSU. “We had the bike, we just weren't riding it. And Paul helped us get on the bike.”

Paul’s contribution to the broader GIS community is Slimgim, an enterprise GIS maturity model that forms part of a comprehensive framework, method and practice for continuously assessing and improving organizational health, capability and transformation readiness. Developed as part of his graduate research and shared openly with the community, Slimgim has evolved into a practical framework used by enterprise GIS, data, analytics and business intelligence professionals to measure enterprise readiness, identify barriers, build data-driven strategic roadmaps and create a shared language for change.

"Paul didn't just give us a map. He's given us a data-driven strategy," said Wendy Baldin, president, BeSpatial Ontario. "He's turned the GIS industry on its head with the way we think about bringing data and its value into our organizations. Slimgim is a game changer."

Paul’s contributions help make enterprise GIS adoption easier, enabling private and public organizations to better understand and improve their enterprise, adopt technology more effectively, embrace a transformation mindset and make reliable data-driven decisions. By connecting enterprise and location-based data across departments and systems, organizations can improve service delivery, reduce manual work, strengthen resilience and get greater value from their investments in enterprise GIS, data and platform technologies to deliver stronger outcomes.

“This award is humbling because it recognizes more than one project or technical accomplishment,” said Paul Giroux. “Slimgim grew out of the real-world challenges many GIS professionals face when trying to move their organizations forward. It gives people a way to measure the work, focus their energy and connect with peers who are trying to build better, healthier enterprise GIS practices. This award validates my efforts and tells me the work I’ve done to help other people and improve the GIS profession has mattered.”

Discover the Slimgim and SlimDnA enterprise maturity models at slimgim.info

Explore Esri’s enterprise geospatial platform, ArcGIS, at esri.ca/arcgis

About Esri Canada
Founded in 1984, Esri Canada provides geographic information system (GIS) solutions that empower people in business, government, and education to make informed and timely decisions by leveraging the power of mapping and spatial analytics. These solutions enable organizations to better manage their resources, plan their future and collaborate within and beyond their organization. Esri Canada’s products and services help advance successful digital transformation. The company serves more than 14,000 organizations from 14 offices across Canada and is based in Toronto. Esri Canada has been recognized as one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies for 14 consecutive years. More information can be found at esri.ca. Follow Esri Canada on X (Twitter), Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and LinkedIn.

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Esri Canada
press@esri.ca

Two men smiling on stage; one holds a glass plaque.