Bio
Shelly Bruce is a CIGI distinguished fellow and the former chief (deputy minister) of the Communications Security Establishment (CSE). She was appointed chief in June 2018 and retired in September 2022, 33 years after she began her career in Canada’s cryptologic agency.
Shelly joined CSE in 1989 as a signals intelligence (SIGINT) analyst and Russian linguist. She spent time in various SIGINT operational, policy and planning roles, as well as in CSE’s Information Technology Security branch (now the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security). In 2007, she was seconded to the Security and Intelligence Secretariat at the Privy Council Office as director of operations. From 2009 until her appointment in November 2017 as associate chief of CSE, Shelly was responsible for Canada’s national SIGINT program.
Shelly continues to be engaged in various projects promoting cyber resilience and is a visiting professor at the University of Ottawa.
Shelly has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Russian studies from Dalhousie University and a master’s in Slavic languages and literature from the University of Toronto.