Vanguard Magazine

44 JUNE/JULY 2021 www.vanguardcanada.com GAME CHANGER See the full interview online Q How did you start out in this industry and how has it brought you to where you are today? I started out in the industry by creating "Simunition" (simunition.com), which went on to become -and remains today- the world leader in realistic training for close quarters combat. When I sold the business, I retired and became an active investor in emerging defence companies through my investment firm, DEFSEC Corporation (defseccorporation.com). Q What is your role at your organization today? My latest investment is KWESST Micro Systems Inc. (kwesst.com), which began trading last fall on the TSXV exchange under the symbol KWE. I've been active as the Executive Chairman of KWESST since October 2019. KWESST has a portfolio of transformative technolo- gies for modernization and digitization of land forces and is an exciting high- growth play. Q What was your most challenging moment? There are almost too many to remem- ber, which is the nature of investing and building emerging companies and weathering the unexpected. Certainly, the unforeseen financial meltdown of 2008-2009 stands out as a challenging time. I had to steer another investee company of mine, Allen-Vanguard, through that tumultuous period. It was very tough but very gratifying to get through it, particularly because Allen- Vanguard plays such an important role in providing life-saving equipment against IEDs to our Canadian forces as well as to many others around the world. The company has literally saved thousands of lives and continues to do so around the world today. Of course, COVID-19 also stands out as a serious challenge to- day for Canadian defence SME's who struggle mightily to adapt to a pandemic world of international travel restrictions. For some, this will prove an existential threat but there are opportunities for creative solutions, something I actually find exciting and deeply engaging. Q What was your "aha" moment or epiphany that you think will resonate most with our reader, tell us that story? In retrospect, the standout realization has been just how much it takes to be successful in the defence industry as an emerging Canadian technology compa- ny. Technology alone is never enough. You need to know how to operationalize it for end-user CONOPS. You need to develop partnerships with major indus- try players. And you need to think glob- ally and learn about the export market because the domestic Canadian market is just too small to support most SME defence companies. Q What is the one thing that has you most fired up today? The constant evolution and pace of new threats is driving exciting new markets and opportunities for technology-based solutions. Often the companies with the insight and agility at the forefront of this are SMEs, not big defence integrators. But the integrators make great partners. They are usually receptive to technologies that fill a capability gap for them, and they can pull SME solutions into their defence programs everywhere. Part of the excite- ment is the sheer pace and urgency as ad- versaries ingeniously exploit technologies like cyber and drones. We've entered an age of the weaponization of everything. It's like Spy vs. Spy vs. Spy from the days of Mad Magazine –only this is for real, and the stakes are high. Q What technologies, business models, and trends will drive the biggest changes in your industry over the next two years? A university engaged me to advise on what I thought the "next big thing" or trend would be and I said, "There isn't one; it's the convergence of everything". Part of that is what I already termed "the weaponization of everything." Looking out two years it is certainly the case that the defence industry will be driven by all-domain warfare capability in an age of rising powers and near-peer adversaries, as well as state and non-state actors who can access cheap, destructive technologies like drones. That means a more danger- ous environment for ground forces, which is KWESST's focus. I believe we will see Western nations more reluctant to deploy troops into harm's way, but when they do they will have much greater protec- tion of various kinds, including precision intelligence, networked situational aware- ness in real-time, electronic protection and a range of tactical counter-measures enabled by new innovations being trialed today. KWESST's goal – and passion – is to contribute significantly to that mod- ernization and "digitization" mission so that our soldiers are safer and more opera- tionally effective. DAVID E. LUXTON PRESIDENT, DEFSEC CORPORATION AND EXECUTIVE CHAIRMAN, KWESST MICRO SYSTEMS INC.

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