Director General Major Projects Delivery (Sea), Department of National Defense
Throughout his 33 years in the Canadian Armed Forces, Rob’s operational postings included opportunities on the east and west coasts of Canada and several postings to engineering training establishments. His 15 years in Ottawa as a Naval Officer included postings to the Project Management Office for the Joint Support Ship, two years within the Halifax Class Modernization Project, lead for the DND’s National Shipbuilding Project Office, and the position of Director Materiel Group Strategic Plans. He retired in 2022 and is working within the Major Project Delivery (Sea) Division of ADM(Mat). Rob is a graduate of the Royal Roads Military College, the Royal Military College of Canada, and the Canadian Forces College.
Commodore Keith Coffen
Director General Maritime Equipment Programme Management, Department of National Defence
A native Newfoundlander, former Air Cadet and former soldier of the Communications reserve, Commodore Keith Coffen was commissioned as an officer of the Canadian Armed Forces in 1995. Trained as a Naval Combat Systems Engineer, he served at sea in Her Majesty’s Canadian Ships Regina and Huron as well as in Her Majesty’s Canadian Submarines Onondaga and Windsor.
Over the course of his career, Commodore Coffen has been primarily focused on the development, delivery and sustainment of equipment solutions that protect the lives of Canadian Armed Forces personnel and enable them to succeed across the full spectrum of lawful military operations worldwide. He has served nationally and internationally in fleet support and project delivery roles including weapon, sensor and platform acquisition and modernization projects.
Commodore Coffen holds degrees in Engineering, Business, and Defence Studies and is a graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada and the US Naval Postgraduate School. He is also a graduate of the Canadian Forces College, having completed both the Joint Command and Staff Programme and the National Security Programme there. He is certified as a DND Level III project manager, for the management of the largest and most complex projects in the Defence portfolio.
Commodore Coffen was appointed as Director General Maritime Equipment Programme Management and Chief Engineer of the Royal Canadian Navy in July 2022.
Adam Watt
Director of Engineering, Canadian Coast Guard
Adam Watt is the Canadian Coast Guard’s Director of Marine Engineering. In this role, he is the technical authority for the Canadian Coast Guard Fleet and directs fleet lifecycle management from delivery to operations to disposal. He came to the Canadian Coast Guard in November 2022 from the Department of National Defence, where he held a number of key roles in marine project Integrated Logistics Support, Class program coordination, and Defence supply chain management. Adam holds a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering and a Master's Degree in Business Administration.
Ian Krepps
Vice President of Growth, Thales Canada
Ian Krepps is the Vice President of Growth at Thales Canada Defence and Security. He has been with Thales for the last 14 years in various roles supporting DND programs. In addition, Ian served in the Canadian Army as a Signals Officer, and as such is well informed to discuss submarines. He shares a professional passion to foster the development and deployment of innovative solutions to address pressing operational challenges, irrespective of the domain or market.
