Senior Director, Defence Solutions, Calian Group

Alain Gauthier spent 23 years in the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps before making the transition to industry. Since then, he has held roles at Thales, Mack Defense and Marshall Land Systems, building a career defined by partnership, trusted relationships and a commitment to delivering sovereign capability to the Canadian Armed Forces. Today, as Senior Director of Defence Solutions at Calian Group, he is focused on growing Calian’s offerings in support of Canada’s Defence Industrial Strategy. Vanguard spoke with him about his career, his approach to leadership and what he sees ahead for the Canadian defence industry.

How did you start out in this industry and how has it brought you to where you are today?

I have been in the defence industry my entire professional life. Before joining the civilian defence industry, I spent 23 years in uniform in the Royal Canadian Armoured Corps. In my final several years, I worked in the Directorate of Land Requirements (DLR), focusing on command-and-control requirements definition and implementation. During my last few years in uniform, I came to see that there was more than one way to serve our country and transitioned to industry.

As daunting as that transition was at the time, it was the absolute best move for me. It gave me an opportunity to truly recognize the commitment of industry to providing CAF members with best-in-breed capability. In industry, I started with Thales, where my focus was working with the Canadian Army and partners to develop and deliver command-and-control systems. It was during this period that I truly understood the power of working in partnership with industry colleagues to provide capability to our customers. This lesson and some great mentors along the way helped me transition from senior manager to executive-level positions within Thales and in later roles at Mack Defense, a division of the Volvo Group, and Marshall Land Systems. Mack Defense and Marshall gave me the opportunity to work with incredible people and develop a network in this industry that I feel brought me to my current role at Calian.

What is your role at your organization today?

Today, my role is to support the delivery of existing programs within the ETS domain and identify existing Calian capabilities that can be leveraged to grow the product offering in support of the increased interest and investments Canada is making within the DIS.

What was your aha moment or epiphany that you think will resonate most with our readers? Tell us that story.

When I transitioned from being in uniform to industry, I realized I had completely underestimated how much industry spoke with each other. Even when companies had divergent opinions, they shared the same common goal: providing the customer, in my case the Canadian Army, with best-in-breed capability. My aha moment came when I realized we could create teaming arrangements in certain areas that would be force multipliers for our mutual customer by working together to deliver that best-in-breed capability. What made these teaming arrangements work so effectively was not hiding behind contracts or NDAs, though these were obviously put in place, but establishing and nurturing trusted relationships between the partners, founded on personal integrity.

What is the one thing that has you most fired up today?

This is a very difficult question to answer because the entire new approach to and focus on defence investment can certainly fire up just about everyone in this industry. However, if I have to pick just one thing, I would choose Calian’s commitment to taking a flagship leadership role in working with the Canadian government, the CAF and our industry partners to develop and deliver truly Canadian sovereign capabilities.

What is the best advice you received?

Speak with intent, clarity and awareness. Be aware that in your role, people are always paying attention when you speak, so always speak with intent and clarity.

What is a habit that contributes to your success?

Be an active listener. Listen to understand, not just to respond. It may be a cliché, but when applied in all scenarios, it is truly powerful, especially when working to develop partnership relationships with industry partners in the same domain. This has certainly made it much easier to define relationships where cooperation can happen, identify areas where it cannot and manage those situations quickly and with integrity.

What is your parting piece of advice?

The Canadian defence industry has been presented with a great opportunity and a significant challenge at the same time. To truly develop Canadian sovereign capability, we will need to work with each other much better than we have in the past. Understanding your organization’s core competencies and remaining open to working with industry partners to drive and support Canadian sovereign solutions is something we must all support.

How is your organization changing the game within your industry sector?

Calian holds a distinguished position within the defence industry, recognized for its expertise in operational readiness through more than 20 years of service to the Canadian Armed Forces. The company provides advanced solutions spanning next-generation training, healthcare, Canadian manufacturing, including composites and anti-jamming antennas, and space communications and connectivity. Most recently, Calian announced ATHORA, a sovereign interoperability platform for C5ISRT, and introduced Calian VENTURES, an innovative orchestrator that supports Canadian SMBs with technology designed to benefit the CAF.

What are some of the biggest impediments to innovation in your industry sector?

Private industry consistently emphasizes the importance of agile procurement practices to support the Canadian Armed Forces (CAF). Notably, 92 per cent of Canada’s defence industrial base comprises small and medium-sized businesses, which often lack the resources to effectively navigate the system and advocate for their interests. To address this challenge, Calian has established Calian VENTURES, fostering partnerships with industry to develop sovereign capabilities for Canada’s military.

How has innovation become engrained in your organization’s culture and how is it being optimized?

Organizations that fail to innovate often face challenges in maintaining relevance and achieving sustained success. Calian has demonstrated consistent performance, reporting over 80 consecutive profitable quarters and ongoing growth within the defence sector. This progress is largely attributed to our collaborative approach with partners and customers to foster innovation, as demonstrated by the launch of ATHORA and Calian VENTURES, initiatives focused on accelerating innovation for the Canadian military.

What technologies, business models, and trends will drive the biggest changes in your industry over the next two years?

No doubt, technologies such as Quantum will be a popular topic of discussion. However, over the next two years, the defence industry will focus increasingly on building a sovereign supply chain for solutions that can be seamlessly integrated into Canadian military mandates, including operations in the Arctic and NORAD.