South Australia’s Department of Premier and Cabinet has confirmed that it has ended the contract of chief information officer Veronica Theriault.
“On 19 September, I terminated Ms Veronica Theriault’s contract with immediate effect,” the department’s chief executive, Dr Don Russell, said in a statement.
Theriault has been arrested and faces charges of dishonesty, Russell said.
“Senior colleagues now believe most of Theriault’s claimed background is totally fraudulent — including fake pay slips from past jobs — and fear they have little idea of the woman’s real identity,” the Adelaide Advertiser reported.
Theriault joined the department in early August.
“I have established an urgent inquiry into the recruitment process that resulted in the employment of Ms Theriault. If changes to recruitment processes are recommended, they will be put into effect,” Russell said.
The Advertiser reported that Theriault “is also said to have been at the centre of an alleged ‘security incident’ within the department in early September, which staff have been told may have been a fabrication.”
“There has not been a security incident,” Russell said in his statement.
“The matter is now before the courts and further comment will not be made,” the DPC chief executive said.
The Advertiser reported that an IT contractor hired by Theriault, Alan Corkhill, is believed to be the former CIO’s brother and also faces charges.
A LinkedIn profile for Veronica Theriault states that she was “chief geek” at Wotif.com until August 2017, an executive director at PwC from 2008 to 2011, and vice-president of global operations at HP Enterprise from 2001 to 2008. HP Enterprise was formed in November 2015.
“We can confirm that Veronica Theriault has not been previously employed by Wotif Group, Expedia group, or any of its related brands or entities,” a Wotif.com spokesperson told Computerworld.
Western Australia’s 40under40 lists a ‘JoAnn Theriault’ as a 2013 winner in its awards program. The site states JoAnn Theriault “joined PricewaterhouseCoopers in 2012 as director of consulting, with a vision for developing a strong and robust technology practice”. “With her help, PwC has emerged to be one of the leading professional services firms in the Asia Pacific region,” it says.
A March 2014 PwC publication
outlining the results of a survey of WA IT leaders lists JoAnn Theriault as a
contact.
Computerworld understands that JoAnn Theriault was employed by PwC from November 2012 until February 2015.