Vanguard Magazine

benefits of a dedicated division we've es- tablished in Europe. With our headquarters in Ottawa Leon- ardo's priorities include increasing knowl- edge sharing, technology transfer and development of the Canadian Aerospace, Defense and Security sector, by further developing our long-term relationships and partnerships with the Canadian gov- ernment and industry. This is also part of a global effort Leonardo is making to ex- tend its industrial presence worldwide Canada has a long established expertise in aerospace, defence and security which no one can maintain in years and decades without a full understanding of the im- portance to carry out research and devel- opment initiatives. Investing around 12% of its revenues on a yearly basis globally, Leonardo is committed to contributing to this strive for innovation in Canada too. There are a number of opportunities for joint initiatives and know-how exchange in areas where we've complementary ca- pabilities and expertise, also with medium and small companies. Another important aspect the global in- dustry and aerospace, defence and security market look at is the capability to provide or develop full solutions: not just products or platforms but also the entire range of relevant services. Canada makes no excep- tion of course. A distinguished feature at Leonardo is the combination of platform and system integration, and the provision of comprehensive packages of support, main- tenance and training. Therefore any offer needs to take this important element into due account, whether for the supply of air- craft and helicopters, unmanned systems, sensors and so on. This must be done with a solid commitment to customization. Training is an area of excellence driven by the full awareness that this is the most important factor to maximize the effective- ness of any aerospace, defence and security asset and preserve the highest level of safety. Leonardo, for example, has devoted much to the development and introduction of aircraft trainers in decades. And we've col- laborated for many years with a key Cana- dian player like CAE to deliver integrated solutions in the training domain worldwide. What Leonardo and its partners are do- ing to preserve and grow the competitive- ness of Canadian industry worldwide is a major part of our presence in the country and we're proud of what we've been able to achieve so far. Significant export opportu- nities are generated through this diversified cooperation. Thousands of Pratt&Whitney engines are flying with Leonardo helicopter in all continents. This is moving forward with our newest products (let's consider the recent delivery of the 1000th AW139 helicopters, the world's most important he- licopter programme in 15 years) and also with the world's first commercial tiltrotor, www.vanguardcanada.com OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2019 27 Sponsored Content the AW609 which is set to revolutionize the way we look at general aviation. Again, in the training domain, CAE simulation devic- es are used to train crews of our customers globally using our products. Leonardo is therefore in Canada to stay and contribute with tangible results for the national economy and everyday's life of the entire national community. Francesco Norante is currently president & Chairman of the Board for Leon- ardo Canada and in his role is leading Leonardo commercial activities in Canada across all businesses. He has the task to expand Leonardo's market presence in both Defence and Civil market leading strategic campaigns and establish long term partnerships with key players. Francesco Norante is responsible for Leonardo Canada p&L. previously Francesco Norante held senior executives positions within Leonardo such as Vice president, Strategic Marketing & International Sales& - Major Sport Events and Vice president Smart Cities and Major Events in United Kingdom. Mr Norante led the successful campaign to deliver perimeter Security sys- tems for the Commonwealth Games 2014 in Glasgow and directed Selex project Team from planning to final delivery. Before joining Leonardo he was Director of Security Inte- gration and Strategic planning for Vancouver 2010 and Turin 2006 Olympic Games. Mr. Norante formerly practiced commercial law and he was a former Carabinieri Corps Of- ficer who served in a variety of operational management roles including peace-Keeping operations contingent (Albania-Somalia- Mozambique) and spent five years in Special Forces. Mr. Norante has a master degree in Law and in political Science. Leonardo is also a world leader in the trainer market with our new technology M-345 and M-346 jet aircra and with our AW119 and AW109 Trekker helicopters. M-345, M-346

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