As Chief Technology Officer and Vice President, Canadian Operations at Side EffectsSoftware since 1999, Dr. Paul Salvini has been instrumental in establishing its main softwareproduct, Houdini, within the special effects industry. 

Among Side Effects' larger clients is the Hollywood-based production studio Digital Domain, whose work is seen in movies such as Titanic, The Day After Tomorrow and The Lord of the Rings series.

Paul is a graduate of the University of Waterloo (BMath) and the University of Toronto (MASc, PhD, MBA).  He completed his master's degree and PhD in traffic engineering. 

After graduating from the University of Waterloo, he joined Canadian Pacific Railway in 1992.  From 1994 to 1996 he worked as an assistant programming supervisor at Metro Toronto Transportation and presided over key enhancements to the city's traffic-signal system. Soon after, he joined Side Effects. 

Paul is currently an adjunct professor at University of Toronto.  In 2008, he was named a recipient of the "Top 40 Under 40" award that honors outstanding leaders who are shaping Canada’s future.