Joe is responsible for overall business operations for CAE Defence & Security globally and leads the development and deployment of CAEs products and solutions to our customers worldwide, including CAEs Digital Accelerator and Transformation initiative for the Defence & Security Business unit. 

Over the course of a distinguished 17-year career with CAE, Joe’s work has spanned research and development, engineering, and business operations. Joe is also an effective advocate, responsible for managing CAE’s relationship with the Canadian federal government, one of the company’s key clients. He is proud to support defence and security organizations in Canada and in allied countries around the world. 

In 2008, he was awarded the NATO Scientific Achievement Award, for his work in supporting the advancement of modelling and simulation across NATO. Joe is a graduate of Carleton University, where he obtained a Bachelor’s degree and a Master’s degree in Cognitive Psychology.

Todd Bryer has been appointed Vice President, Global Business Development of CAE’s Defence & Security Group. In this position, he leads all aspects of strategy and business development across the group’s global business segments and domains, in order to provide CAE’s defence customers with the highest levels of mission readiness.

In addition to 23 years of service in the U,S. Army, Mr. Bryer brings to the position 12 years of experience in corporate strategy and business development focused on the Departments of Defense, State, and Energy as well as national intelligence and federal law enforcement markets.  In this role, he will be a strategic partner on the executive team and instrumental in the planning, development and execution of business growth and customer success strategies.  

Mr. Bryer joins CAE from BlueForce, Inc., where he was the Vice President of Business Development, with responsibility for developing and executing strategies to achieve growth and diversification.   Earlier in his career, Mr. Bryer held senior leadership positions with Day & Zimmermann, BAE Systems, and Sotera Defense Solutions.   

He is a summa cum laude graduate of Sullivan University in Louisville, Kentucky where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, and graduate degrees in Managing Information Technology and Business Administration.  Todd is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP).

Mr. Bryer’s military experience includes active duty from 1985 – 2008, serving as an Armor Officer and finishing his career as the Director of Strategic Systems at the U.S. Army War College.  He is a recipient of the General Douglas MacArthur Leadership Award, presented to the top 12 company-grade Officers in the active Army who exhibit outstanding leadership and demonstrate the ideals of duty, honor, country.

Mr. Chittenden is the Director of Strategic Campaigns and the Director, Global Strategy and Market Development - Unmanned Systems for CAE's Defence and Security business unit. He is attached to the Washington D.C. (U.S.A.) office. Jim is responsible for the development and implementation of the global defence and security business strategy for unmanned systems as an element of the overall defence strategy. In this capacity, he synchronizes the global sales, marketing, business development, and strategy for CAE’s Defence and Security unmanned business units.

Jim is a 26-year veteran of the United States Air Force, where he held a variety of key staff and command positions including expertise in Department of Defense acquisition and foreign military sales. He is a command pilot with training, test, and operational experience in fighters, bombers, and remotely piloted aircraft. Jim is a graduate of the prestigious United States Air Force Weapons School.

Jim holds a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. He also holds a Master's Degree from the University of Arkansas and two Master's Degrees from Air University in Montgomery, Alabama.

Steve joined CAE in 2005 after a 20-year career with the United States Air Force. During his USAF career, Steve was a command pilot with 4,000 flight hours in a variety of aircraft, including the HH-1H and C-130E and H. He commanded a C-130 squadron prior to retiring.

Steve joined CAE as a C-130J simulator instructor. He began developing curriculum and courseware in that role. In 2008, Steve became CAE USA’s first Training Solutions Manager under the Training Services division. He helped design and implement the CC-130J Training Center in Trenton, Ontario, as well as supporting CAE’s captures of the KC-135 and MQ-9 Training Systems for the USAF. He later served as the KC-135 ATS Program Manager. Integral to the CAE Trax Academy, launched at I/ITSEC 2019, Steve led the integration of the LMS and data analytics into CAE’s pilot training solution.

Steve has a Master’s Degree in Management, a Master’s in Business Administration, and is PMP certified.

Ray was appointed President and General Manager of CAE USA in July 2013. In his position Ray is responsible for the strategic direction, general management and operation of the business unit. 

Ray has more than 30 years experience in the global defense industry. He has served at CAE as Vice President, Global Business Development from June 2010 to July 2013, and prior to that he was Vice President, Sales, Marketing & Business Development for CAE USA.  In 1989, Ray began his career within the simulation and training industry with Boeing Training Systems & Services where he held positions of increasing responsibility over 14 years.

Ray served as an active duty U.S. Marine Corps officer and fighter pilot for over ten years and remained active in the Marine Corps Reserves for an additional nineteen years, retiring in 2008 at the rank of Colonel. Ray has a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Florida State University and an MBA from Texas A&M – Kingsville University. 

Daniel Gelston was appointed Group President of CAE’s Defence & Security Group in August 2020. In this position, he leads the Defence & Security business worldwide, which focuses on helping CAE’s defence customers to maintain the highest levels of mission readiness.

Daniel Gelston is a proven leader with more than 20 years of experience in the U.S. military, intelligence community and the global defence industry.

Before joining CAE, Mr. Gelston served as President of L3Harris Technologies’ Broadband Communications Systems sector and President of Communication Systems-West division. In this role, Mr. Gelston led his team to multiple record-breaking years of fiscal performance and significantly improved the business’s overall competitive win-rate and pipeline expansion.

Prior to his leadership role at L3Harris Technologies, Mr. Gelston was President of the Special Security Agreement (SSA) businesses Smiths Detection Inc. and Cobham Tactical Communications and Surveillance. In 2017, he led the SSA-controlled portion of Smith’s $710 million Morpho Detection acquisition and the divestment of Smith's Brazil business. In 2015, Mr. Gelston led the sale of Cobham's Surveillance Business and served as CEO during its transition to a standalone company.

Mr. Gelston holds a Master of Science degree in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University and a double-major Bachelor’s degree in Economics and International Strategic Policy from Bucknell University.

Mr. Gelston’s military experience includes active and reserve duty from 1998 to 2007 as an Armor and Military Intelligence Officer. He is a US Army Armor School Draper Awardee and Intelligence Officer School Distinguished Honor Graduate.

France Hébert is Vice-President and General Manager, Defence & Security (D&S) for CAE Canada. France leads the Defence & Security business in Canada, shaping the vision and the operational and commercial strategy for the division, which includes 14 sites across the country and a team of over 650 employees, many of whom are embedded with military units across the country. As an influential leader, France is CAE’s representative for D&S Canada with the federal Government and Canadians.

France has over 30 years of experience working in defence and aerospace. Over the course of her career, France has held senior positions in strategy, business development and operations. She brings extensive leadership experience with a proven track record on complex billion-dollar programs. She successfully won business in Canada and abroad, being recognized with numerous awards. Prior to her current role, France was Head of Land C4ISR Business Area for General Dynamics Mission Systems Canada, Ottawa. She was fully accountable for the line of business including all aspects of execution, operations and finance of the Canadian division.

Through her varied career, she was an officer in the Canadian Armed Forces and worked for three companies playing major roles in Canada, namely: Bombardier, Nortel and General Dynamics Mission Systems – Canada (GDMS-C).

France is a Professional Engineer who holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Physics) from the Royal Military College of Canada. She also holds a Project Management Professional (PMP) designation. France has two children in university and lives in Ottawa with her husband. She is a second dan black belt in Tae Kwon Do and enjoys decompressing at Crossfit.

Robert Kemp was appointed Vice President Business Development & Sales EMEA in January 2020, having previously held the position for Middle East and Asia Pacific Region. 

Robert served in the Royal Air Force and has held a number of senior positions within BAE Systems and Saab Aerospace.

Robert joined CAE Defence & Security (D&S) when the CAE Middle East Region (CAE MME) was formed in 2012, and was responsible for all D&S Business Development in the GCC as well as Vice President & General Manager for CAE MME. 

In establishing CAE MME, Robert led the securing of the UAE Naval Training Centre, and for the Joint Aviation Command, two new multi-role helicopter simulators for the NSA 407 MRH and MH60 ABH. In addition, Robert established the UAE Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) Training School. In the wider region contracts were won for NH90 in Qatar and New Zealand. 

In his current role he has led successful campaigns throughout the Region with notable wins for NH90 in Germany and Single Synthetic Environment (SSE) in the UK as well as a major constructive simulation contract in the GCC.

Joining the CAE D&S International leadership team in Aug 2020, Steve is responsible for the International Business Development team across Canada, EMEA and Asia Pacific. With a real focus on developing meaningful partnerships across the industry in order to drive innovation and growth for CAE in the Government and Defense markets. 

Steve started his career with 16-year engagement in the UK Royal Navy Submarine service concentrating on communications security. Leaving in 2001, Steve has focused on Senior Business Development leadership and prior to his role at CAE D&S, Steve served as Head of Global Sales for ST Engineering and Head of Global Marketing and Sales for Airbus Defense & Space, Connected Intelligence.

Married to Lauren and with two children, they enjoy family globetrotting adventures and exploring international destinations. Whilst at home, weekends are spent walking the local countryside and beaches on the East Coast with their dog ‘Blue’ the black Labrador.

Shelley joined CAE USA in 1999. Her knowledge of the defense market spans 27 years, including her service in the United States Navy. Shelley previously worked as the Director of Training & Operational Support Services and was responsible for the operational excellence and support for defense customers around the world.

As the Vice President of Services, Shelley's team consists of 1000+ educators, aircrew, instructional system designers, engineers, technicians, cybersecurity experts, and other support staff across multiple defense programs spanning the land, air, and sea domains. 

Shelley earned a BS in Criminal Justice from Park University and achieved a MEd in Educational Technology from the University of Arkansas.

As part of CAE Defence & Security - Canada region, Jacques leads all aspects of strategy, business development, marketing, sales and communications across the various business segments and domains (Air, Land and Naval). His responsibilities include developing strategic business growth plans and executing business development activities to grow CAE’s business base.

Jacques has 34 years of work experience in the Defence & Aerospace industry, in Healthcare and in the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF). He has worked at CAE for the past 19 years in various strategy and business development roles for CAE Defence & Security group, CAE Healthcare group, and CAE Canada region. Jacques worked previously at Bell Helicopter Textron Canada as Senior Project Engineer, Flight Test Support Engineer, and Product Manager in support of various helicopter projects, including the CH-146 Griffon. 

His military career included assignments as Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Officer in Trenton - Ontario, Lahr - Germany; and Moose Jaw - Saskatchewan; and also, as Program Manager at AMDU Trenton (now ATESS); as well as Aide-de-Camp to the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan.

Jacques graduated from the Royal Military College (RMC) in Kingston in 1986 with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering degree and successfully completed his Master of Business Administration (MBA) from HEC Montreal in 2001. He is married with three daughters.

Philippe is Head of Technology for the Defence & Security Group at CAE. In this capacity, Philippe ensures alignment of the business unit’s R&D innovation pipeline to the needs of its customers across its core markets of Air, Land and Naval Systems training.

An over 30-year veteran in simulation and training, Philippe has held positions including Senior Director of Global Business Development, Chief Engineer and Airbus A350 Program Director, Director of Synthetic Environment Engineering and Director of Engineering for Visual Systems.  In these roles Philippe has helped define the strategic technology evolution of CAE’s products, has lead development of visual systems and of synthetic environment such as common database (CDB) technologies, image generators and instructor/operator systems.

Philippe has a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the Technical University of Nova Scotia (TUNS), is a member of the Quebec Order of Engineers, is a member of the I/ITSEC sub-committee on Policy and Standards, and is also a member of the Board of Directors of the IMAGE Society.  

Jeff is the Head of Strategy & Business Development – Asia/Pacific where he is responsible for leading the growth of the CAE Defence & Security business in Asia/Pacific markets. Jeff has a leading role in the development and implementation of the Asia/Pacific Regional Strategic plan that is aligned with the market environment and the CAE Global Strategic Plan.

Jeff has only been with CAE in Australia for a short period but has been in the Defence and Aerospace sector for over 30 years. Prior to CAE, Jeff lead the Aerospace & Surveillance Business Unit within Nova Systems that grew by over 40% during his time.

Jeff is an Aerospace Engineer by background and started his career in the Royal Australian Air Force. He initially worked on the F-111C aircraft before being posted to the Aircraft Research & Development Unit (ARDU) where Jeff was involved in flight testing of aircraft systems and modifications. Jeff moved into the major projects domain and has been involved in numerous complex systems of systems ISR projects including the initial team responsible for the highly successful E-7A Wedgetail AEW&C aircraft and the Vigilare Air Battle Management command and control system.

James Rapp is Director Global Naval Market Development for CAE's Defence and Security business unit; he is attached to the CAE UK office in Burgess Hill, West Sussex.  James is responsible for the development and implementation of CAE’s global strategy in the naval domain, and developing its naval market.  In this capacity, he supports CAE’s worldwide naval sales, marketing and business development activities.

His first career was in the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy, retiring as a Rear Admiral.  In his last appointment, he was Director General for the spectacular programme of events to mark the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.  Before that, he was Flag Officer Sea Training and responsible for the operational sea training of all the Royal Navy’s ships, submarines and auxiliaries, and ships from 19 other foreign navies.

Earlier in his career, he served in the Fleet Air Arm, spending 6 years flying as an Observer in anti-submarine Sea King helicopters.   He commanded four ships including three Type 22 frigates: HMS BRAZEN, during the first Gulf War; HMS BRILLIANT, when undertaking UN embargo operations against the former Yugoslavia, and HMS CORNWALL, as Captain of the Second Frigate Squadron.  He also served twice in the UK Ministry of Defence in the Directorate of Navy Plans and twice on the staff of the Commander in Chief Fleet.

Marc-Olivier was appointed Vice President Global Defence & Security in October 2019. In this role Marc-Olivier has overall responsibility for CAE’s Defence business outside of the USA and South America. Heading a team around the globe, Marc-Olivier executes CAE’s strategy to offer best in class training and mission systems integration capabilities to militaries from more than 40 nations. 

Prior to his current nomination, Marc-Olivier was accountable for CAE's Defense & Security business in the Europe & Africa region. Previously, Marc-Olivier was responsible for CAE Operations within the Europe, Middle-East and Africa region and he managed CAE’s production sites in Hungary and United Kingdom in addition to the German office and all the activities executed in the Canadian headquarters for customers of the EMEA region. 

Marc-Olivier has a Bachelor of Engineering degree from McGill University and an MBA degree from HEC University. Marc-Olivier has received numerous recognitions for his work and published articles.

Michael joined CAE as in 2017 as Systems Manager for the German Air Force Tornado Simulators within the Customer Training Services Division. In June 2020 Michael was appointed to his current role as Director Business Development Germany, where he oversees a dedicated team of business development managers primarily devoted to developing training solutions for the German Armed Forces. 

Michael served in the German Air Force from 1988 until his retirement in 2009.  While in the German Air Force Michael was a Frontline Tornado Fighter-Bomber Pilot from 1993-2009 at Fighter Bomber Wing 31 "Boelcke".  Throughout his military career Michael has held various leadership and staff positions within the Fighter Bomber Wing, including Senior Operations Officer 312 Squadron; Commanding Officer 311 Squadron and Wing Operations Officer in charge of deployments, training and operational evaluations. 

Following his retirement from the German Air Force in 2009 Michael studied at the Open University Business School in the United Kingdom and obtained his MBA in 2012.  From 2012-2016 Michael worked as a freelance consultant and facilitator for various Small and Medium sized Enterprises (SME´s) and Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). In addition, Michael led a business unit as an interim manager in the electronics industry.

Michael is also actively involved in mentoring and coaching; facilitation of teams; continuous improvement activities and keynote speaking.

Chris Stellwag is director of marketing communications for the Defense & Security business unit at CAE, where he has worked for 20 years. In this position, he has global responsibility for trade media relations, trade shows, advertising, social media and marketing content for CAE’s defense business. Prior to joining CAE in 2001, Chris held marketing and communications positions at BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Delta Air Lines, and NCR Corporation. Chris holds a Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the University of Dayton and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business/Technical Communications from the Florida Institute of Technology. If you have a general inquiry about CAE, please contact Chris and he will answer or direct you to the most appropriate contact.
 

Bruce Tuftie was appointed Vice President of Strategy and Business Development of CAE USA Military Simulation & Training, a Tampa, Florida-based subsidiary of CAE, Inc. in August 2016.  The Vice President of Strategy and Business Development is responsible for generating revenue for the company through innovative business development initiatives.  The VP of Strategy and Business Development oversees the development, integration, and execution of business development plans for CAE USA.

Bruce was appointed Vice President for CAE’s Strategy and Business Development organization in August of 2016. In this role, Bruce is responsible for developing and implementing strategies for the company to allow for growth and positioning as a world leading training systems integrator.  Prior to this position Bruce was the Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Pacific Contours Corporation in Anaheim, California.  Bruce also served as a program management consultant for DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) and TRADOC (United States Army Training and Doctrine Command).  Bruce is a former Special Operations Master Army Aviator and department of defense program manager.  His former assignments included tours with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne), the 82nd Airborne, Technology Applications Program Office, and the United States Special Operations Command. 

Bruce is a Level III certified program manager and has a master’s degree in business. 

Based in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Iain is responsible for strategy and business development for CAE across the Middle East region. Iain graduated from the University of London with a degree in Physics and holds a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Bristol. Following his undergraduate degree, Iain joined the Royal Air Force as a fast-jet navigator with operational tours on the F4 Phantom and Tornado F3. The final 7 years of his military career were spent as an acquisition specialist supporting the Eurofighter Typhoon and F35 Joint Strike Fighter programmes; the latter as an avionics, sensors and flight test specialist based with the US Navy at Patuxent River NAS in USA. Iain also accrued 300 hours of flight time on F18 Hornet supporting Joint Strike Fighter flight test. 

After an 18-year military career, Iain moved into the civilian aerospace sector, first running his own consultancy and then in various leadership roles with several British and international blue chip companies. Iain has spent considerable time in the United Arab Emirates, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Canada, USA and Europe. Having joined CAE Middle East in 2017, Iain has recently moved to Riyadh to support programme delivery and business growth in Saudi Arabia.  

David “Dash” Wilmot was appointed Director, CAE Defense & Security, Live Flight Strategic Campaigns in September 2019. Prior to this appointment, Dash held positions at CAE USA as Director, Live Flight Business Development and at the CAE Dothan Training Center as Grob International Chief Pilot. 

Prior to joining CAE, Dash started and led two companies in 2011, Technology Transfer Associates, a consulting company in Sofia, Bulgaria and Viper Aviation Services, a pilot services company in Windsor, Colorado.  Dash also worked for Cirrus Aircraft as Director, Military and Special Mission Fleet Sales and Grob Aircraft as VP Defense Sales.  While working for Cirrus and Grob he accumulated over 500 hours in Cirrus (SR-22) and over 500 hours in the Grob (120TP) aircraft.

Dash retired as an O6 from the US Air Force (USAF) in 2011.  During his 30-year service in the USAF Dash flew over 4000 hours in T-37s/T-38s and F-16 including 160 combat hours over Iraq.  He commanded the 13th Fighter (F-16) Squadron, Misawa Japan and was Mission Support Group Commander and Vice Commander at the 39th ABW in Incirlik, Turkey.  He held several Air Force staff positions including NATO AIRSOUTH Chief of Staff for Tactical Evaluations, USAF Europe Deputy Director of Training and US EUCOM J3 Current Operations Action Officer.   He finished his career as the Defense Attaché / Senior Defense Official for the United States at US Embassy Sofia, Bulgaria.

Dash is a 2003 graduate of the National War College with a Master of Science in National Security Strategy.  He also holds a Master of Science in Business Aviation from Embry Riddle and a Bachelor of Science in Management Information Systems from University of Arizona.

Heidi R. Wood was appointed Executive Vice‐President, Business Development & Growth Initiatives in May 2020 and President of CAE Healthcare in September 2020. Her primary focus at CAE is to partner with the business unit leaders to identify and drive new avenues of growth across CAE. She will play a leadership role in the development of a data and advanced analytics strategy for CAE as well as, in collaboration with the rest of the Executive Management Committee, create an overarching Artificial Intelligence (AI) strategy focusing on both productivity and strategic AI efforts.

Heidi has over 25 years’ experience analyzing, creating and driving strategic growth in the Aerospace and Defense industry and has been recognized for her dynamic leadership, driving transformation and creating value for numerous Fortune 500 companies.

Prior to CAE, Heidi spent several years at L3 Technologies, where she was the Senior Vice President (SVP) of Corporate Strategy and Technology, responsible for five functions: Engineering/Technology, Mergers & Acquisitions, Communications, Investor Relations, and Strategy. She created and led all aspects of the strategic merger with Harris Corporation, which resulted in a company with $17B in combined sales and the 6th largest US defense prime. This deal was not only the largest merger‐of‐equals in Aerospace/Defence at the time, but was also the fastest run. It was widely lauded by Wall Street; from deal announcement to deal closure.

Before L3, Heidi was SVP, Corporate Strategy at Spirit AeroSystems, the largest aerostructures company in the world, where she helped execute a successful turnaround. Prior to Spirit, Heidi served as Managing Director at Morgan Stanley and was a leading Wall Street analyst for two decades, widely regarded as one of the industry’s thought leaders. She was named to the Institutional Investor All-America Research Team for 14 straight years and took numerous companies public, including Embraer and iRobot.

In addition to recognition on Wall Street for her expertise, Heidi has won numerous other awards, including SAP’s Innovation of the Year Award in 2018 for building L3’s state-of-the-art enterprise analytics effort. She was a director of the Board on non‐for‐profit organizations including Rise Up for Youth and The Space Foundation. In 2001, she was appointed by U.S. President Bush as a Commissioner on ‘The Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry’. Currently, Heidi is a Board member of the Wings Club and a member of the Defense Science Boards’ study on the Aerospace/Defense industrial base.

Heidi R. Wood is an honours graduate with a Bachelor of Arts from Brown University.