Vanguard Magazine

34 JUNE/JULY 2026 www.vanguardcanada.com F E AT U R E G A M E C H A N G E R See the full interview online Alain Gauthier learned quickly that the defence industry is more interconnected than it appears from the outside. Com- panies may compete and hold differ- ent views on how requirements should be met, but they often share the same objective: delivering the strongest pos- sible capability to the Canadian Armed Forces. For Gauthier, the best results come when companies understand their strengths, recognize where a partner can add more and build relationships grounded in trust and personal integrity. That philosophy now informs his role at Calian Group, where he supports exist- ing defence programs and looks for ways to bring the company's capabilities to- gether in response to Canada's growing defence investments. Q What was your aha moment or epiphany that you think will resonate most with our readers? Tell us that story. When I transitioned from being in uniform to industry, I realized I had completely underestimated how much industry spoke with each other. Even when companies had divergent opin- ions, they shared the same common goal: providing the customer, in my case the Canadian Army, with best-in-breed capability. My aha moment came when I realized we could create teaming ar- rangements in certain areas that would be force multipliers for our mutual cus- tomer by working together to deliver that best-in-breed capability. What made these teaming arrangements work so ef- fectively was not hiding behind contracts or NDAs, though these were obviously put in place, but establishing and nur- turing trusted relationships between the partners, founded on personal integrity. Q What is the one thing that has you most fired up today? This is a very difficult question to an- swer because the entire new approach to and focus on defence investment can certainly fire up just about everyone in this industry. However, if I have to pick just one thing, I would choose Calian's commitment to taking a flagship leader- ship role in working with the Canadian government, the CAF and our industry partners to develop and deliver truly Ca- nadian sovereign capabilities. Q How is your organization changing the game within your industry sector? Calian holds a distinguished position within the defence industry, recognized for its expertise in operational readiness through more than 20 years of service to the Canadian Armed Forces. The compa- ny provides advanced solutions spanning next-generation training, healthcare, Ca- nadian manufacturing, including compos- ites and anti-jamming antennas, and space communications and connectivity. Most recently, Calian announced ATHORA, a sovereign interoperability platform for C5ISRT, and introduced Calian VEN- TURES, an innovative orchestrator that supports Canadian SMBs with technology designed to benefit the CAF. Q What is a habit that contributes to your success? Be an active listener. Listen to understand, not just to respond. It may be a cliché, but when applied in all scenarios, it is truly powerful, especially when working to de- velop partnership relationships with in- dustry partners in the same domain. This has certainly made it much easier to define relationships where cooperation can hap- pen, identify areas where it cannot and manage those situations quickly and with integrity. Q What is your parting piece of advice? The Canadian defence industry has been presented with a great opportunity and a significant challenge at the same time. To truly develop Canadian sovereign ca- pability, we will need to work with each other much better than we have in the past. Understanding your organization's core competencies and remaining open to working with industry partners to drive and support Canadian sovereign solutions is something we must all support. ALAIN GAUTHIER SENIOR DIRECTOR, DEFENCE SOLUTIONS CALIAN GROUP

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