Board Members
Our board is comprised of community and national leaders in Canadian defence and security that help guide the strategic direction of the CDA Institute.
Lieutenant-General (Ret'd) Guy R. Thibault, CMM, MSC, CD
Chair of the Board
Former Vice Chief Of The Defence Staff
Lieutenant-General Guy R. Thibault retired from the Canadian Forces (CF) in August 2016 after 38 years of service. As a General Officer, he served as Commander Land Force Central Area; Deputy Commander Canadian Army; as well as the Defence Deputy CIO/CF J6 and Communications and Electronics Branch Leader.
From 2011-2013 he served in as the first Canadian Chairman of the Inter-American Defense Board an entity of the Organization of American States. He concluded his military service as the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff serving three years as the second in command of the CF and was responsible and accountable to the Chief of the Defence Staff and the Deputy Minister to coordinate and direct strategic programs to ensure defence policy and strategic objectives were achieved.
Wendy Gilmour
Vice-Chair of the Board
Former NATO Assistant Secretary General, Defence Investment
Wendy Gilmour served for 34 years in Canada’s foreign affairs and national defence departments, including: on secondment to NATO as Assistant Secretary General, Defence Investment; Canada’s High Commissioner (Ambassador) to Pakistan; Director General Trade and Export Controls; and Director General International and Industry Programs and Deputy National Armaments Director. She also served in Canadian diplomatic missions abroad in Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom and Nigeria; and on international peace operations missions in the Office of the High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and as a Political Advisor (POLAD) to the first three Commanders of NATO’s Kosovo Force in Pristina, Kosovo.
Post 9/11, she was assigned to the Canadian Joint Task Force South-west Asia in US CENTCOM, and subsequently to Ottawa as Director Peace Operations, i.a. supporting Canada’s deployment to ISAF, with responsibility for the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and as Director Sudan, with responsibility for Canadian support for the peace process in Darfur and South Sudan. She also served as POLAD to the Commander North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) in Colorado Springs, USA. Ms. Gilmour holds a BA (Honours) in Political Studies and History from Queen’s University at Kingston, and served in the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve as a Logistics Officer.
Kerry Buck
Former Canadian Ambassador to NATO
Ms. Buck (BA Hons, Political Science, University of Western Ontario; Common Law and Civil Law, LLB, BCL, McGill University) joined Canada’s then Department of External Affairs and International Trade in 1991.
She most recently served as Canada’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council (NATO). From 2011 to 2015 she served as Political Director and Assistant Deputy Minister for International Security and Political Affairs. Prior to that, she held Assistant Deputy Minister portfolios for Africa and for Latin America and the Caribbean, and was the head of the Afghanistan Task Force. She has also served in a number of other senior positions at the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, including Director General for the Middle East and Maghreb, Afghanistan, Public Diplomacy and Federal-Provincial Affairs, and Director for Human Rights. She was also posted to the Canadian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York.
Outside of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, Ms. Buck served in the Privy Council Office as Director of Operations for Machinery of Government Secretariat, as Director of Policy and International Programs at the Canadian Human Rights Commission, with the International Development Research Centre and the Constitutional Law Bureau of the Office of the Attorney General of Ontario.
Ms. Buck speaks English and French. She is married to Michael Pearson and has a son and three step-daughters.
Rear-Admiral (Ret'd) Luc Cassivi
Former Commander, Military Personnel Generation and Canadian Defence Academy
Director, The Navy League of Canada
Luc was born and raised in the Gaspé Peninsula, Québec. His experience in the Royal Canadian Sea Cadets led him to join the Canadian Armed Forces in 1983. He enjoyed an active sea-going career culminating in Command 3 submarines, the Submarine Sea Training Group, one frigate, and the Submarine Force before assuming senior appointments within the RCN and the CAF. He also had the pleasure to serve in Australia, the United-Kingdom, The Netherlands and the United States of America.
His appointments at the rank of Rear-Admiral were Commander, Military Personnel Generation and Canadian Defence Academy (2017-2020), CAF Senior Liaison Officer to Veteran Affairs Canada (2020-2022), and Director General Culture Change at CPCC (2021-2022). Luc received a BSc in computer science from CMR St-Jean in 1988, a MBA from the Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, Scotland in 2008, attended the Naval War College, Class of 2011, at Newport RI, USA, attended the Capstone program at National Defense University, Washington DC, USA in 2017, and attended the Harvard Kennedy School in 2018. He retired in September 2022.
After a period of rest, Luc became a Senior Advisor with Boston Consulting Group in January 2023 and established his own advisory company, L.C. Bespoke Solutions in May 2023. Luc is also a director at True Patriot Love Foundation, The Navy League of Canada, and his condo board. He is an Honorary Director of Rainbow Veterans of Canada.
Vice-Admiral (Ret'd) Robert A. Davidson, CMM, MSC, CD, MBA
Vice-Admiral Robert (Bob) Davidson joined the Canadian Armed Forces (Naval Reserve) in 1977 as an Ordinary Seaman while attending university. He was selected for officer training in 1978, and subsequently served in various training ships and establishments on the east and west coasts. He transferred to the Regular Force in 1982 in order to specialize in submarines. Submarine sea going appointments include three years on exchange with the Royal Navy serving in Her Majesty’s Submarine WALRUS, and 18 months commanding the Sea Training Group for the Australian Submarine Squadron. A graduate of the Royal Navy Submarine Commanding Officer Course (the “Perisher”) in 1989, his first Command was the submarine HMCS OJIBWA.
Since retirement, Bob has served on the Board of Directors for Ocean Networks Canada from 2017-2020 and as a Senior Mentor for the National Security Programme at Canadian Forces College Toronto 2019-2021. Bob is currently a Senior Associate for Hill and Knowlton Strategies.
Mike Hamilton
Chief Distribution Officer, SVP
RBC Insurance
As SVP, Chief Sales & Distribution officer, Mike Hamilton is responsible for leading the RBC Insurance Sales and Distribution, and Marketing teams across Canada and across multiple channels. This includes 2000 employees serving our personal and business clients across our life, health, home, auto, travel, wealth, group and creditor products in addition to all marketing support. RBC Insurance’s sales forces include: a network of over 50 stores; a contact centre; digital channels; and advisors who are focused on group and small business clients. In addition, there is a team that provides relationship management for our third-party broker and travel agency network.
Mike also leads the national office Sales and Distribution team, consisting of sales enablement, training, communications, and sales support professionals who help drive productivity, revenue growth and improve the client experience.
Mike joined RBC in February 2013 and has over 20 years of experience from various senior roles in North American financial services companies. He has extensive knowledge of the finance industry, having held senior positions at a number of blue- chip insurance companies. Mike has a strong track record of leading and developing top-performing sales teams, growing organizations, and creating an exceptional client experience.
Mike holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Norwich University, Military College of Vermont. Early in his career, Mike spent ten years serving in the U.S. Army while engaging in three combat tours. He retired as a Captain post his command 220th.
Mike is married and has three teenage daughters. In his spare time, he enjoys playing golf, tennis, and skiing, as well as many outdoor activities. Mike gives back to the community by being involved in Military Veteran Affairs, TPL, Canada Company, Treble Victor, and Ronald McDonald House.
Chris Henderson
Former Deputy Commissioner of Operations at the Canadian Coast Guard
Seaspan Shipyards
Chris Henderson is a retired senior executive with 37 years of military and public service spent navigating the complex interfaces between government and stakeholders; between strategy and tactics; between planning and execution. Most recently, he spent four years as Deputy Commissioner of Operations at the Canadian Coast Guard. Prior to that role, he was the Assistant Deputy Minister of Public Affairs at the Department of National Defence and held program, policy, and communications positions of increasing responsibility at the Canada Border Services Agency, Privy Council Office, and DND. He has represented Canada internationally in both civilian and military capacities, and dedicated more than 20 years in communications and operational roles in the Royal Canadian Navy.
Chris is currently on contract to Seaspan Shipyards with a keen focus on the recently-announced Icebreaker Collaboration Effort (ICE Pact) among the United States, Finland, and Canada. He has a Bachelor of Arts from Carleton University (1986) and a Masters in Defence Studies from the Royal Military College (2002).
Daniel Jean
Daniel Jean had a stimulating career in the federal public service for more than 35 years when he retired from his position of National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister of Canada in May 2018 after several positions as Deputy Minister, in particular Foreign Affairs and Canadian Heritage. Earlier in his career, Daniel worked on international and migration-related issues, both in Canada and abroad, including 2 postings in Haiti, 2 separate assignments in the United States, and 1 in Hong Kong.
A Senior Fellow at the Graduate School of Public and International Affairs of the University of Ottawa, a Distinguished Fellow at the Canadian School of Public Service and an Associate Fellow at the Multidimensional Conflicts Observatory of the UQAM/Chaire Raoul-Dandurand, Daniel graduated in 1988 with a Master of Business Administration from the State University of New York at Buffalo and a Bachelor of Arts in social sciences in international relations and economics from the University of Ottawa in 1982. He has a keen interest in international relations; Canada-U.S. relations; national security issues and how they interact with the economy; migration matters; and governance. Daniel currently serves on a number of advisory committees and non-profit boards.
General (Ret'd) Tom Lawson
Former Chief of the Defence Staff
Tom Lawson grew up in Etobicoke, Ontario, and attended the Royal Military College of Canada to attain a degree in Electrical Engineering, later teaching engineering at RMC. Following pilot training he was posted to various bases in Canada and Europe where he flew CF-104 Starfighters, CF-18 Hornets, Challengers and Airbus aircraft. Lawson has commanded at several levels during his career; as CO of 412 Squadron, as Wing Commander of 8 Wing in Trenton, and as Commandant of RMC.
As a General officer, Lawson was appointed Deputy Commander of the RCAF, Deputy Commander of NORAD, and ultimately Canada’s 18th Chief of the Defence Staff. As CDS, Lawson oversaw the completion of the Canadian mission in Afghanistan, the deployment of Canadian troops to Eastern Europe as part of NATO’s response following Russian aggression in Crimea, and Canada’s contribution to the coalition effort against the Islamic State.
General Lawson now provides strategic advice to Canadian and American defence and security firms and enjoys coming up with new projects for the family cottage in Muskoka.
Naresh Raghubeer
Managing Partner and Co-founder
Sandstone Group
Naresh Raghubeer is a managing partner and co-founder of Sandstone Group. Naresh was ranked by the Hill Times Newspaper as one of the top 100 lobbyists in Canada in February 2021. He is passionate, driven and results oriented. He has proven that effective public affairs and government relations depends on (i) clear communications; (ii) building trust and (iii) working collaboratively with all stakeholders across government.
After four successful years at Davie Shipbuilding (Quebec) and its sister company, Federal Fleet Services (Ottawa) holding executive roles as Vice President Communications and Regulatory Affairs and then Vice President Federal Government Relations, Naresh decided to establish Sandstone Group to continue to deliver exceptional government relations support to clients across the spectrum. During his time at Davie Shipbuilding he was able to help the senior executive management team to reset the company’s public image and relationship with the Government of Canada during extremely difficult times and then supported the efforts to win contracts and significantly increase the order book.
Naresh is also an advocate for a strong national security and defence posture for Canada. This has been demonstrated during his work in the Senate of Canada where he supported senators on the National Security and Defence Committee, including its Chair between 2012-2017.
Prior to working in the Senate, Naresh was a consultant supporting clients in the public policy and energy sector. He has also worked at the provincial government level between 1996-2003.
In April 2021, he was appointed a Director to the Board of the Conference of Defence Association Institute, Canada’s premier national security and defence association.
Vincent Rigby
Former National Security and Intelligence Advisor
Vincent Rigby is the Slater Family Professor of Practice and formerly the McConnell Visiting Professor for 2022-2023. He recently retired from Canada’s Public Service after 30 years in a variety of departments and agencies across government, including the Privy Council Office, Global Affairs Canada, Public Safety, the Department of National Defence and the former Canadian International Development Agency. His career focused on security and intelligence, foreign policy, defence, and development issues. His last position was as National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister from 2020 to 2021. In addition to his position at the Max Bell School, he is also a senior fellow with the Norman Patterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, as well as a senior advisor with the Centre for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC. He holds an MA in history from Carleton University.
Stéfanie Von Hlatky
Canada Research Chair in Gender, Security, and the Armed Forces
Fellow, Centre for International and Defence Policy
Full Professor in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University
Stéfanie von Hlatky is the Canada Research Chair in Gender, Security, and the Armed Forces, co-director of the MINDS Network for Strategic Analysis and Full Professor in the Department of Political Studies at Queen’s University. Her research focuses on NATO, gender and the armed forces, military interventions, and defence policy. Her latest book, Deploying Feminism: The Role of Gender in NATO Military Operations, was published with Oxford University Press in 2022. Stéfanie von Hlatky is the founder of Women in International Security-Canada and the Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the Princess of Wales’ Own Regiment.
Sarah-Myriam Martin-Brûlé
Full Professor at Bishop’s University and Non-Resident Fellow at the International Peace Institute, New York
