Vanguard Magazine

34 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2022 www.vanguardcanada.com GAME CHANGER See the full interview online Q How is your organization changing the game within your industry sector? Our vision for the future. For decades, our customers have counted on us to help them overcome their most complex chal- lenges and stay ahead of emerging threats. That may sound trite, but we must be leaders in the "what if we could make this happen…" game by providing the most technologically advanced solutions that were never specified. To align with the priorities of our customers in the decades ahead, we have to think beyond what they are envisioning and offer those solutions. Collectively, inside Lockheed Martin, it's all part of what we deem the concept of deterrence called 21st Century Security. Q What are the biggest impediments to innovation in your industry sector? I think we continue to work inside a sys- tem that does not provide the agility nec- essary to get products to market at the pace of our adversaries. We are seeing that shift in mindset necessary to help drive to- ward that agility and certainly everyone is motivated to deliver but we need to evolve our engineering and acceptance practic- es with greater efficiency. Simply put, both industry and the customer must be in lockstep in finding ways to reduce time to market for key capabilities that are needed now. More broadly, winning the race for talent have never been more imperative. While that statement Is being worn into the ground daily it is no less relevant. The lines between the defence indus- try and commercial industry have never been more blurred. What was once the protected domain of defence specific skillsets is now applicable in multiple, broad-based sectors. Q How has innovation become ingrained in your organization's culture and how is it being optimized? Innovation roadmaps are grand plans to help you get to be market leaders, but in- novation can come from anywhere. It's about having the mindset and collective understanding that great ideas can rise to the surface from just about any corner inside your organization. Whether it's process efficiencies or product enhance- ments, some of our best ideas have come from the grass roots development teams. Aligning to our 21st Century Security vision, we can accelerate the adoption of innovative networking and related tech- nologies into our product and service lines, such as CMS 330 while enhancing the performance and value of our ma- jor customer platforms. We will partner with defense and commercial companies to find and develop future systems to bring cutting-edge technology to the modern, highly contested battlespace. Because our portfolio spans every branch of the Canadian Armed Forces, we have unique insights into the chal- lenges and opportunities to enable opti- mal battlespace awareness by providing unmatched command and control solu- tions across land, sea, air, space and cyber. Q What technologies, business models and trends will drive the biggest changes to your industry over the next two years? All areas of warfare along with the associ- ated information sharing and control are now inextricably linked. Stop thinking about developing single use technologies or anything that can't be applied or linked to the greater network. Joint All-Domain Operations (JADO) is the term that will be with us for a while. Today's challenges to global security aren't just changing – they're accelerating faster than ever before. Our adversaries are highly adaptive and confronting us from every domain across air, sea, space, land and cyber. The aircraft, ships and ground vehicles our Canadian Forces operate today collect an abundance of information. Process- ing and analyzing that amount of data is a challenge, especially when you factor in multiple levels of security at which those systems operate. By synchronizing ma- jor systems and crucial data sources with revolutionary simplicity, JADO provides a complete picture of the battlespace and empowers our military to quickly make decisions that drive action. Q How did you start out in this industry and how has it brought you here today? When I transitioned out of uniform and into the defence industry in 2009 it was something I never saw coming. Halifax Class Modernization was just kicking off and I was offered a program manager role in training systems development. It was not an easy decision to leave the Forces but that inner voice kept telling me, "it's time." 2009 was one of the most chal- lenging times for the company and we had many difficult phases on that program but the memory that sticks out most from my transition are the people who met me at the door that first morning, those who welcomed me in and mentored me and those in the teams that supported me from the outset. They are some of the brightest and best people I've ever met and I am pleased to say they are leaders in their own right inside LM today. To this day, it's the people that motivate me. Over the years, it just seemed that op- portunity was everywhere, and I've been fortunate enough to have been provided a range of responsibilities from my leader- ship that has groomed me and helped me get to my current role. The experience of working as part of a massive capture like the Canadian Surface Combatant pro- gram is a once in a lifetime venture. GLENN COPELAND GENERAL MANAGER, ROTARY AND MISSION SYSTEMS (RMS) LOCKHEED MARTIN CANADA

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