Gary Hilson has written thousands of words for print and pixel for nearly 25 years, both as a journalist covering technology and in various corporate communications roles. His domain knowledge spans enterprise software, cybersecurity, semiconductors, memory systems and architectures, data storage and protection, networking and edge computing, artificial intelligence and machine learning, privacy legislation, sustainable transportation, autonomous vehicles, wearables, and green technology.
His career began in Ottawa with a startup technology publication, Silicon Valley North (SVN), which focused on the news, trends and issues affecting the greater Ottawa technology community during the heyday of Nortel. Areas of coverage included software, telecommunications, biotechnology, and government support for research and development and technology transfer, including the initial launch of the Canada Foundation for Innovation, as well as the launches of several Newbridge Networks affiliate companies. Another frequent area of focus was the efforts by local post-secondary institutions to address skills shortages in the region through collaborative programs based on industry input. Gary spent time covering the Alberta technology sector out of Edmonton and the British Columbia scene while based in Vancouver for SVN.
Now based in Toronto, Gary’s work has appeared in many leading technology publications past and present, either as a freelance writer or full-time staff member, including EE Times, where he focuses on coverage of memory systems, and other electronics-related topics for Fierce Electronics. Outside of technology, he writes for Rates.ca, covering a variety of topics related to insurance. Other credits include EBN (where he filled in as editor-in-chief), ITBusiness.ca, ITWorld.ca, Computing Canada (now IT World Canada), The Channelist, Technology in Government, and Network Computing, as well as The Ottawa Citizen, the Toronto Business Times, and the Winchester Press. He’s also been known to write the odd comic book review.
In addition to his work as a journalist, Gary has experience as a senior account consultant with a boutique B2B technology PR agency, where he guided media and public relations campaigns and supported a wide variety of written content production, including case studies, employee and customer newsletters, news releases, thought leadership articles and whitepapers. As a freelance writer, he continues to collaborate with PR and content marketing agencies to meet the writing needs for their clients and has collaborated with web designers to develop content for client websites. Corporate clients past and present include Bose Professional, CDW, Verizon, FireMon HP, HPE, Microsoft, Nutanix, Google, Supra ITS, Texas Instruments, Trustpilot, and IEEE.
Gary was formally trained as a journalist at Algonquin College of Applied Arts and Technology in Ottawa, where he learned that no matter what you are writing, the most important thing to remember is your audience. He also has formal training in project management from the University of Toronto, which enables him to juggle projects as an editor, communications professional, and presently as a freelance writer who can run with a project and manage it end-to-end for his clients.
In addition to writing, one of Gary’s key career highlights was spearheading the development and launch of an online, SaaS-based collaboration service for Ontario researchers and educators as well as the corporate intranet for the Ontario Research and Innovation Optical Network (ORION).
His work experience spans small, entrepreneurial startups, large publicly traded corporations, non-profit organizations and virtual companies.