Vanguard Magazine

game CHangER 44 JUNE/JULY 2019 www.vanguardcanada.com See the full interview online Q How did you start out in this industry and how has it brought to where you are today? With growing up in the steel town of Hamilton, ON, the only way to describe getting started in the marine sector is by the truest definition of serendipity: a series of fortunate events. With the recession of 1982, the prospect of get- ting an education and a job had evapo- rated overnight. My first and most life changing moment was acceptance to the Royal Military College, followed by selection for the Navy. My volunteer- ing for submarines and the selection for a Navy-sponsored marine engineering post graduate studies complete with an exchange position in the UK, the hook was set for a career for life in the marine sector. Q What is your role at your organization today? In my SNAME volunteer role as the Global Membership Committee Chair, I work with the other volunteers across the globe with support from a lean head- quarters staff to drive "value for mem- bership" into the organization. With an aging demographic in our sector, SNAME's primary focus over the last two decades has been on students and their transition in to the marine sector as young professionals. We now support 44 SNAME student sections worldwide, with three in Canada (Memorial, UBC and IMQ). Q What was your most challenging moment? For those who have served at sea or be- low the sea, we all have had a bad day with a major system failure. I am glad to say that serendipity coupled with a well-trained and experienced team pre- vented that bad day from escalating to a really bad day. These experiences have equipped me with the resilience to keep moving forward, even when the odds (or others) seem against you. Q What was your "aha" moment or epiphany that you think will resonate with most with our readers? Tell us that story. We are all stronger when you take the time to get to truly know the people around you, for me, my active mem- bership with SNAME is a great enabler. With the networking I have established with SNAME, I have assisted many people by offering short-term and long- term independent career mentoring. The "aha" moment comes when I have been successful in matching someone who is need of support or looking for a change of jobs with a company in need. We are all stronger together. Q What is the habit that contributes to your success? Collaboration. The recent MARITECH 2019 in Ottawa was conducted as a joint event between the Canadian Insti- tute of Marine Engineers (CIMarE) and SNAME. This event, with over 600 par- ticipants and 75 exhibitors, enabled peer- to-peer and government/industry discus- sions at the technical practitioner level – a true demonstration of open and collegial discussion through two keynotes, three panels and 30 technical presentations. We also reached out to a number of organi- zations, such as the Chamber of Marine Commerce and government departments of DND, Coast Guard, Transport and PSPC. In addition, SNAME cooperates globally with other technical societies and organizations, such as Green Marine. As Karl Kenny, President Kraken Robotics, stated as the opening keynote at MARI- TECH, the true competition is often not your neighbour across the street. Q What people or organizations do you believe best embody the innovation mindset? The 2019 Elmer A. Sperry Award recipi- ent, Sandy Thomson of Thordon Bear- ings best exemplifies the art of innova- tion. I had the privilege of presenting Sandy's nomination for "advancing the art of transportation" to the Sperry Award board, comprised of six major technical societies (ASME, IEE, AIAA, SAE, ASCE and SNAME). For a sector that is per- ceived as being very conservative, Sandy demonstrated that the rule-based culture in the marine industry is always ready for innovation. Q What is your parting advice? Invest in yourself and your teams. In- creasingly, the world is expecting you to continuously improve and exercise your skills to provide the necessary outcomes. Just like finance, advancing technical skills creates compound interest. Active par- ticipation in a technical society is a great enabler. Glenn Walters Global membership committee chair Sname (Society of naVal architectS anD marine enGineerS)

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