Vanguard Magazine

game ChaNGer 48 APRIL/MAY 2019 www.vanguardcanada.com See the full interview online Q What is your role at your organization today? Today I'm the Vice President and Gen- eral Manager for CAE Canada. I am re- sponsible for CAE's Defence and Securi- ty business in Canada, which is critically important to the company since Canada is our home country. Q What was your most challenging moment? The largest challenges in my mind are always driven by the ability to bring people together in complex situations, align expectations, unify perceptions of a problem, and solve things together. Q What was your "a-ha" moment or epiphany that you think will resonate most with our reader? Tell us that story. My biggest epiphany was that EVERY- THING comes down to people and re- lationships. I am a firm believer that any technical solution can be solved with the right amount of time, space, and resourc- es, but very little can be solved or accom- plished if people are not aligned and en- gaged to reach a common objective. Q What is the one thing that has you most fired up today? The speed in which technology is ad- vancing, and specifically, the ability to measure performance at both the sys- tem level and the human level and then interpret that data in an intelligent way. CAE is taking advantage of technologies and big data analytics to help make pi- lot training more effective and efficient. This is gratifying to see because I had spent quite a bit of time in my early ca- reer in the fields of Artificial Intelligence and Computation Human Performance modelling – a field that, at the time, I had great hopes for its broader applica- tion across the defence industry. Q What is the best advice you received? To always believe that any problem has a solution. Q What is your parting piece of advice? Believe that any challenge can be over- come if you surround yourself with good people who are willing and committed to working together. Q What are some of the biggest impediments to innovation in your industry sector? The defence industry is stricken by gov- ernment procurement processes that are too rigid and too focused on trying to eliminate risk, which stifles innovation and leads to timelines that are so long that what might have been innovative at one time is obsolete by the time it actu- ally gets fielded. I would also say that a big impediment is that Defence is some- times too shy of itself. In other words, the government/military and the defence in- dustry do not openly share some of the amazing innovation that takes place in our industry, which over time will erode the desire and excitement of talented people wanting to work in this market. Q How has innovation become engrained in your organization's culture, and how is it being optimized? CAE has been around for more than 70 years now, and ever since Ken Patrick – a former Royal Canadian Air Force officer – founded the company in 1947, we have always had innovation and technology leadership in our DNA. Today, as a com- pany focused on training, we are continu- ally innovating to remain at the forefront of the training industry. Just last year, we launched a five-year internal research and development initiative called Project Digital Intelligence that will see us invest more than C$1 billion to transform our products and services to leverage digital technologies. We are creating solutions that involve big data, artificial intelligence, cloud-computing, cybersecurity and aug- mented/virtual reality, all of which can and will play a role in enabling integrated live-virtual-constructive training. One very recent example is the introduction of CAE Rise, which stands for Real-time In- sights and Standardized Evaluations. CAE Rise leverages the wealth of "big data" that is gathered during simulator training sessions, and it provides the ability for in- structors to deliver standardized training and objectively assess pilot competencies using live data. We first launched CAE Rise for civil aviation and have now in- troduced it to the military market to help enhance the efficiency of pilot training, which is even more critical right now as militaries face the challenge of pilot re- cruitment, training and retention. Q What technologies, business models, and trends will drive the biggest changes in your industry over the next two years? We are going to continue to see more long-term government/industry partner- ship in the sustainment and servicing of defence systems. I am a firm believer that a long-term partnering approach is the only way to impact capability. I'll add too that leveraging big data will continue to drive change. I know the term "big data" has the connotation of being the latest buzz- word, but access to this data and using it to objectively address challenges will have a tremendous impact on efficiency and ef- fectiveness in a range of disciplines. Joe Armstrong Vice President & General ManaGer CAE

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