Vanguard Magazine

44 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2017 www.vanguardcanada.com G GAME CHaNGER See the full interview online Q How did you start out in this in- dustry and how has it brought you to where you are today? I came into the aerospace industry in 2010 from the chemical industry, where I was the CEO of an industry association. The one thing that I came to understand about the aerospace industry is that every day is a different day with new opportu- nities and challenges. Being the CEO at AIAC has been a wonderful experience – each day you get to see some of the world's best innovation. Q What was your aha moment or epiphany that you think will resonate most with our reader? I think it was back in 2015, shortly after the new Trudeau government was elected and we were discussing what lens the new government would be using to determine how they would govern. With the previous government, it was easy if the solution we were advocating contributed to Canada's GDP, then you have a pretty good chance of success. With the new government, we determined they would be using multiple lenses like social impact, environmental impact, and economic impact, to name a few. This means we have multiple options for focusing our program and policy asks and communicating the many ways, not just economic, that our industry aligns with their vision for Canada's future. Q Step back and analyze your journey, what is the takeaway you want to give to our audience? There are a lot of high-pressure situations in both politics and business, and it can be easy to find yourself in situations where you feel – and your staff or colleagues or members feel – that you need to make a decision right away. But one of my for- mer bosses taught me the importance of taking time to go away and think before choosing a way forward. He never made on-the-spot decisions, but always listened to the advice he was given by his staff and then took some time for private consider- ation. I've followed his example for many years and it has had a huge impact on the way I work and lead my team. Q What is the one thing that has you most fired up today? Today we are finishing our 2017-18 busi- ness plan. Inside the plan, we have strate- gies on how we will work with the fed- eral government to take policies like the Innovation and Skills Plan and the new Defence Policy to a level where our mem- bers continue to be global leaders in their fields. It's always exciting to move from strategic planning to execution and that's where we are right now. Q What are some of the biggest impediments to innovation in your organization or industry sector? The aerospace industry turns on innova- tion. It is what we are and what we do. That being said, because of the way that the aerospace industry works, I think the biggest impediment to innovation for our members is often the size of the company. When we look at the numbers, innova- tion-related activity increases exponential- ly as companies grow from small to me- dium to large. So, one of the things we're very focused on at AIAC is finding ways to help companies scale up faster, that's one of the best ways to help them increase their innovative capacity. Q What technologies, business models, and trends will drive the biggest changes in your industry over the next two years? The globalization of our industry con- tinues to be a tremendous challenge for Canadian industry. Working with gov- ernment to create and refocus policy and programs that allow companies maintain global leadership is critical. To be suc- cessful, we need to continue to help com- panies to grow and scale the global sup- ply chain. There are many countries that want what we have. Staying ahead re- quires a commitment to growth through innovation. Q What is your parting piece of advice? There are always ways to find the sweet spot between business objectives and pub- lic policy goals. It is not always obvious; however, if you are prepared to step out of the box and be serious about creating synergy, you can get it done. JiM Quick President & CeO aeroSpace induStrieS aSSociation of canada

• Cover