Keith McIntosh has led his award-winning software testing company from his home province of New Brunswick for 25 years. He has grown PLATO Testing into a multi-million-dollar company and, with its 2022 amalgamation with parent company, PQA Testing, PLATO currently has a team of more than 250 professionals across 11 offices who provide software testing and technology services to customers both at home and abroad.
Inspired by the 2015 release of the Truth and Reconciliation Report and his participation in the Governor General’s Canadian Leadership Conference, Keith founded PLATO, the country’s first Indigenous-led and staffed software testing company. His goal was to address two important issues: our country’s shortage of technology professionals and the high rates of unemployment among Indigenous youth.
What sets PLATO apart is its commitment to not only training but employing members of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit communities as software testers. Today, Keith and the PLATO team are proud to have trained more than 240 Indigenous software testers, injected more than $11 million directly into the Indigenous economy, and created a meaningful impact in more than 65 communities across Canada.
Keith’s commitment to person-to-person reconciliation and growing Indigenous participation in the technology sector was recognized by CCAB in 2020 when he received the Award for Excellence in Aboriginal Relations, a prestigious annual award that recognizes a Canadian for their contributions to creating significant social impact across Canada.