Vanguard Magazine

gAme CHANGER 40 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2018 www.vanguardcanada.com See the full interview online Q How did you start out in this industry and how has it brought you to where you are? As s son of a soldier, I joined the Cana- dian Armed Forces in 1986 as a reservist and transferred to the Regular Forces in 1987. As commander of operations' ser- vices for the support group of the 2nd Canadian Division (Province of Que- bec), the last position I occupied in the Regular Forces, I had the responsibility of managing the garrisons of Montreal, Saint-Jean, Saint-Hubert, Farnham and Valcatier. At that time, I had teams who oversaw security, good governance and the coordination of community life in each of these locations. It is thus an amalgamation of my past military expe- riences as well as my role in the man- agement of governmental sites that pre- pared me to join and lead the excellent team that is the Corporation du Fort St-Jean. Q What is your role at your organization today? As General Manager of the Corporation du Fort St-Jean, my role is to direct the company toward the accomplishment of its mission to preserve, restore and oper- ate the site of the Royal Military College of Saint-Jean according to the needs of the Minister of National Defence. As a non-profit organization, we offer, via one singular contract, the entirety of in- stitutional support required by the mili- tary whom we serve. Q What was your most challenging moment? The transition from a military career to the leadership of a civilian organization was for me a period of learning, full of challenges, adaptations and opportuni- ties. It is thanks to the President of the Council, Mr. Alain Beauchamp, and the support of the Board of Directors that I overcame the challenge. Q What is the best advice you received? In 1987, just as I completed my training as an infantry officer, the platoon's sec- ond-in-command welcomed me by say- ing, "Mon lieutenant, have confidence in all that you have learned, supervise as you have been taught and put into ac- tion those lessons, and most of all, never forget that I will always be by your side." Twenty-nine years later, I still recall this advice and used it as I took command of the Corporation du Fort St-Jean. Q What are some of the biggest impediments to innovation in your industry sector? The biggest impediment to innovation is that the role of Corporation du Fort St- Jean is difficult to understand given our unique nature and the lack of compa- rable institutions. The very fact of being the sole organization of this type means that decision-makers must make extra efforts to understand our business mod- el, a model that provides multiple ser- vices under one organizational umbrella. Supporting the national defence agenda requires constant in-house innovation as well, such as evolving to maintain cur- rent environmental and human resource standards and having a detailed purchas- ing policy in line with the Department of National Defence (DND) rules and regulations. Q How has innovation become engrained in your organization's culture and how is it being optimized? Our motto guides our every action. "Servir notre Force" is a play on words in French meaning both to serve our troops and that service is our strength. These three words guide us toward an organizational culture tailored to the military on the one hand and to providing outstanding service to the public on the other, all the while striv- ing for constant self-improvement. Every employee adheres to the motto to ensure that our efforts are always aligning us to in- novate and to work together for the benefit our clients, the military students and per- sonnel on the site, and to take care of the site itself. It serves as a communal reminder of the importance of customer service and the care entrusted to us by the DND. Q What technologies, business models, and trends will drive the biggest changes in your industry over the next six years? We are already developing new technolo- gies and fine-tuning our business model to be ready to lead the industry in the com- ing six years when our contract is set to be renewed with the DND, and to assist with the elaboration of a plan to export our business model to future CAF bases and units. We believe that to each their own strengths: we serve our troops so that they can serve the Canadian people. A model funded by the government, operated by a non-profit and whose profits are rein- vested back in the government – that is a winning proposition. Q What is your parting piece of advice? Adhere to intellectual and operational curiosity. I believe that it is important to destroy roadblocks in the face of the un- known or to disrupt comfortable habits in order to consider alternative ways of ser- vice delivery. Steve Hétu General ManaGer La Corporation du Fort St-Jean

• Cover