John Newton retired from the Royal Canadian Navy in 2018, after a 35-year career that saw him undertake leadership roles in command of ships, operations, naval bases, the Naval Training System, and Maritime Forces Atlantic. During his departure speech from Maritime Forces Atlantic, where he led for five years, John held a large mechanic’s spanner in his hand, a sign of his appreciation for the tireless work behind the scenes by the engineering community. It was his salute to the system and the military and civilian workforce that kept Canada’s naval fleet at sea and on duty. Having worked closely with the Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy on the transformation of the navy to meet the challenge of the fleet modernization and recapitalization efforts, its people-first focus, and burgeoning operational demands, it was a natural transition for John to join an industry partner that has over 35 years of experience helping sustain a viable and vibrant navy. Fleetway is an all-Canadian, naval engineering and technical services company with four offices across Canada. As a former operational commander, John brings to Fleetway a fresh perspective of the company’s proud legacy providing in-service support to the Halifax Class frigates, Integrated Logistics Support and training to the Arctic Offshore Support Ship project, and Supportability support to the Canadian Surface Combatant project. Most recently, John joins all Fleetway employees in signaling their commitment to provide project management, policy and standards development, engineering and logistics services for the design, acquisition and sustainment of marine vessels and equipment under the recently awarded ELMS II contract. As the teamed partner with BMT Canada on the ELMS II contract, John is extremely proud to continue this important work in support of Canada’s naval fleets. John Newton was selected as a Vanguard Game Changer for the August/September 2019 issue. Here is the full interview with him. What is your role in your organization today? I am Managing Director of Fleetway Incorporated and Oceanic Consulting Corporation. With roughly 250 employees in offices in Halifax, St John’s, Ottawa, and Victoria, my thrust is to grow Fleetway’s and Oceanic’s reputations and service offerings to our main clients in DND, the Royal Canadian Navy, and Canadian Coast Guard. The opportunity at hand is the National Shipbuilding Strategy and the commitment of Government to recapitalize the federal fleets. What was your most challenging moment? My most challenging moment in the Royal Canadian Navy was getting the modernized Halifax-class frigates, upgraded Victoria-class submarines, and Kingston-class patrol vessels into meaningful service and sustained operations globally. Canada and its allies were demanding RCN re-engagement in operations after a low-water mark that coincided with both the overdue and inelegant retirement of Iroquois and Protecteur Class ships and also the five-year absence of the Halifax-class during its mid-life modernization. It was a privilege to lead and command in operations during this period. The engineering communities of the navy and industry collaborated, the learning system of the navy started its transformation, and alliance relationships were reaffirmed. Canada’s frigates returned to service with a vengeance, submarines were deployed operationally to European and Asia-Pacific waters, while Kingston-class ships were dispatched on increasingly successful counterdrug missions in the south and capacity building in Africa. A new Cyclone helicopter was introduced, and the sailors of the navy were prepared for a new era of operations in the Arctic. In my mind, this resurgence signaled the readiness of the Royal Canadian Navy for the major recapitalization effort now making headway, and the essentiality of the government-industry collaboration necessary to bring a nation’s sovereign capabilities to bear at sea. In my private sector leadership role today, I very much feel the impetus to capitalize...