Farewell Rob Chang: After 32 Years, HIROC’s Director of IT Announces a Well-Deserved Retirement

It’s not often you hear of someone in the IT field sticking with the same employer for over 30 years, but that’s what makes Rob Chang so special.

Rob joined HIROC back in 1987 when it was just a small, but burgeoning startup. 

Today marks 32 years that Rob has spent driving HIROC’s innovative Information Management and Technology (IM&T) practices. 

Before he goes, we caught up with Rob to talk about the highlights of his impressive career and wish him a very happy retirement.

HIROC News: How has the IT landscape changed since the early days? 

Rob Chang: Back in 1987, Local Area Networks (LANs) were a fairly new concept – one that I had the privilege of bringing to HIROC through my experience at Royal Trust. Today, 32 years later, we aren’t as focused on hardware technology. Our focus now is primarily on information security, data, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things (IoT). We’re seeing rapid growth in the industry today, with more and more use cases for interconnected technologies. 

But in those early days, HIROC’s IT landscape, like most other companies, was about coming to the office and turning on your computer for basic word processing and spreadsheets (we actually had typewriters). You still had to open your physical mail and check for faxes. We didn’t have email yet so we communicated primarily by telephone. If you worked from home, you brought all your paperwork with you. 

Today, the IT landscape has transformed so much that almost everything is available at your fingertips. It’s a very different world than it was 32 years ago and certainly an exciting time to be in IT.

HIROC News: What has been your proudest accomplishment while at HIROC?

Rob: Stability. I’d have to say that I am most proud of developing and maintaining a stable network over the last 32 years. To thank for this, I have a great team of experts that has grown year after year. I could not do it without them. 

HIROC News: When you were asked to come on board at HIROC – a brand new, and very unique organization – what was your first thought?

Rob: I was working with a great group of operations staff at Royal Trust and was being recognized for my loyalty and hard work. At that time I was on a special project with the LAN team. Then one day I got a job offer from the Hospital Insurance Reciprocal of Ontario (HIRO – as it was known at the time). HIRO was still just a startup and everyone I talked to was telling me that I would have more opportunity to grow at Royal Trust; I was 23 at the time and felt differently. I decided that the startup would expand my horizons. The rest is history. 

Please join us in wishing Rob a healthy and happy retirement!