JOHn wright

Chairman | Toronto, ON

John’s diverse industry experience of 30+ years ranging from technical and managerial roles in globally recognized corporations (Northrop Grumman, Honeywell, British Aerospace, GE Aerospace) to hands-on management of smaller technology-based enterprises lends him an in-depth understanding of aerospace/defence and technology sectors – large to small. John brings a proven track record in pursuit and capture of major aerospace, defence and security procurements, mergers and acquisitions experience, private-to-public company transitions, and associated financing. John co-authored background documents that contributed to Jenkins and Emerson commissions conclusions which, in turn, resulted in the Defence Procurement Reform.

John’s continued contributions to a plethora of industrial and academic bodies including the CADSI SME Committee, the NSERC/ISED NCE review process, the Canadian Institute for Photonic Innovations, and the AIAC Small Business Committee – among others – complement a breadth of expertise that is a valued asset to JPOM Canada. John founded JPOM in 2007.

howard nash

vice president | edmonton, ab

Howard D. Nash is a dynamic executive who spent much of his career managing Northstar Network, an Aerospace SME, and building a collaborative network of Eastern Canada companies for bidding contracts. This concept was successful in securing high value contracts with several divisions of Lockheed Martin, L3, and others. Howard brings years of experience working as a Project/Program Manager and has a proven track record in business development, risk management and quality assurance.

Howard is a founding member and Co-Chair of the Aerospace & Defence Industry Association of Newfoundland & Labrador (ADIANL) and the Atlantic Alliance of Aerospace & Defence Associations (AAADA). He has served on the boards of the National Chapter of the Canadian Manufacturers & Exporters (CME), the Aerospace Industry Associations of Canada (AIAC) and has served on CADSI SME Committee. Howard moved to Edmonton in 2016 and is very active in his community there. He joined JPOM as Vice President in April 2018.

Thomas serjeant

vice president - Africa | cape town, South africa

Tom advises companies on capture strategies for new business and the mechanisms of government procurement processes globally. 

Originally from St. John’s, Newfoundland, Tom’s career has taken him across the world from Labrador, to the United Kingdom, and from Australia to South Africa.  Tom’s experience in the aviation and construction industries and strong business sense allow him to effectively access business opportunities for African companies with stakeholders throughout the world. Tom works with the rest of the JPOM team in Canada and globally to present specific business opportunities and strategies for accessing such opportunities to his clients. 

An accomplished aerobatic pilot and an avid sailor, Tom resides in Somerset West (Cape Town), South Africa. Tom holds an Engineering Degree from Memorial University in Canada. He joined JPOM as a Vice President in February 2019.

Doug Smith

Vice President – communications & Outreach | Ottawa, ON

Doug Smith, author of "The Trauma Code" & "Thriving in Transition", is a thought leader on the impact of workplace induced emotional trauma. An accomplished keynote speaker & communicator, Doug presents a trauma management model he developed (System438) to address trauma and maximize human performance.

Doug provides JPOM Canada clients with both understanding of and messaging on, the impact of workplace culture on mental health and performance. Doug’s clients are able to use this understanding and messaging to the benefit of their employees and the performance of their organization.

An elite athlete at 18, Doug was the 1st Round draft pick of the Los Angeles Kings and played 607 professional games before a broken neck and spinal cord injury ended his career. Doug understands the impacts of workplace culture, the process of trauma recovery and the rebuilding of personal performance because he has been there.

Doug joined JPOM Inc. as Vice President of Communications & Outreach in September 2019.

AYDIN DEMIR

VICE PRESIDENT - TURKEY & EURASIA | Ankara, turkey

Aydin advises companies on capture strategies for new business and the mechanisms of government procurement processes globally. He brings more than 30 years of experience in international defense and aviation programs, specializing in marketing & business development, program management, product development, and production planning & control areas. 

Aydin's experience, combined with a strong business sense, allow him to effectively access Turkish and Eurasian business opportunities for stakeholders throughout the world. Aydin recently held the position of Regional Account Executive, Marketing and Communication Department at Turkish Aerospace. Prior to that, Aydin held significant managerial positions in over 15 advanced systems programs for international defence organizations. Aydin holds a Bachelor of Metallurgical Engineering and Advanced Management Certificate from the Middle East Technical University. Aydin joined JPOM Inc. as a Vice President in September 2019

Robert Gosse

Vice President – government & aboriginal affairs | St. John’s, N.L.

Bob is a seasoned executive with over 30 years of management experience in diverse aspects of the aviation industry in both the public and private sectors.

Based in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Bob is an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer who has held Senior management positions in the Canadian Aviation Industry. His experience in the Aircraft Maintenance and Engineering Industry have seen him manage an Aircraft Composite Manufacturing facility, a Water Bomber Maintenance facility, a Commercial Airline’s Maintenance and Engineering facility and Airport Security in Atlantic Canada.

Bob is a member of the Qalipu Mi’Kmaq First Nation and he has also held positions on both Government and Private Boards. Bob holds a Pilot License and an Aircraft Maintenance Engineer (AME) License.  He is a member of the Canadian Institute of Management and a Graduate of Queen’s University Executive Business Administration Program.

Bob joined JPOM Inc. as a Vice President in September 2019.

PIERRE ROBERGE

Vice President – CYBER DOMAIN | GIBRALTAR

Pierre brings extensive experience in the cybersecurity domain. His unique perspective comes from both: 11-year experience in working at Communication Security Establishment ( CSE), and founding a successful cyber security business, Arc4dia.

Pierre founded Arc4dia to offer private sector businesses similar levels of protection against advanced cyber threats at a level he has deployed while working at Communication Security Establishment (CSE). Under Pierre’s leadership, Arc4dia has developed security software SNOW, that has successfully undergone rigorous testing by the Canadian Department of National Defense, the U.S. Air Force and NATO, and has received distinguished recognition at each instance.

An 11-year veteran of the Communication Security Establishment (CSE), Pierre led advanced technical teams tasked with protecting Canada’s national interests in cyberspace. While the majority of Pierre’s projects remain classified, Pierre established a strong reputation among ‘5- Eyes’ nations as a leading expert and innovator in cyber intelligence operations. His declassified awards include the CSE Excellency Award and the Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation. While working alongside British and American counterparts, Pierre led teams of 100+ members to combat the most advanced cyber threats originating from both state and non-state actors.

Pierre is experienced in working within a complex, enterprise-level networking environment using the most advanced technologies. His technical experience ranges from securing low-level infrastructure and endpoint systems to interfacing with dynamic and cross-functional networks. Furthermore, Pierre holds a board security adviser role at four businesses, including a well established Canadian networking company, Noviflow.

Peter hess

Vice President – atlantic canada | Sackville, nb

Peter brings 30+ years of global business experience enjoying a broad base of corporate and entrepreneurial opportunities over his career. His extensive career has covered a variety of sectors including transportation, aerospace & defence, heavy construction equipment, and education technology. His experience provides a wide range of skills and knowledge to draw upon. Peter's major career focus has been business development and marketing with recent senior level leadership positions in the past 15 years.

Recent responsibilities include Managing Director of the New Brunswick Aerospace & Defence Association, Co-President and part owner of a New Brunswick based EdTech distribution company representing various solutions for the Education sector, and CEO of EduCode Canada Inc. - a start up EdTech company based in Moncton.

Peter was a dual-sport collegiate athlete at Mount Allison University enjoying success in football having competed in the Vanier Cup and being drafted in the 4th round by Montreal all while completing his Bachelor of Commerce Degree. Peter then went on to earn his MBA from Purdue University's Krannert Graduate School of Business while working and living in the mid-west USA with Deere & Co.

Peter joined JPOM as a Vice President in September 2022.

Michael Baran

Director, Digitization | Ottawa, ON

With over 20 years of experience in the development, deployment and the support of Digital Command and Control (C2) and Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) systems, Michael possesses a wealth of knowledge and expertise in national defence IT infrastructure, covering the strategic, operational, tactical, and implementing transformative change.  

Most recently, Michael was engaged in Joint Intelligence force development, and building out the Cyber Capital programmes of the Canadian Department of National Defence.  He holds a deep understanding of the processes of capital procurement, as well as the implementation of Joint programmes, coupled with excellent project management skills and a diverse network within the field.

Michael brings multi-national interoperability, C4ISR domain expertise, along with the leading of multi-disciplinary teams to the fore.  He has recently returned to managing a nimble and skilled set of teams, delivering timely capabilities to engaged and satisfied clients, while fostering the individual excellence of team members to maximize the capability of delivering viable outcomes.

Michael is an acknowledged expert in Digital Transformation within Organizations and holds the highest levels of Security Clearances within Canada and NATO.

Michael joined JPOM in September 2022.

Jeremy Penney

Director, emergency management & Incident Response | Ottawa, ON

Jeremy Penney is a defence industry consultant with 10+ years of experience in the private sector and 20+ years as a serving member of the Canadian Forces Reserves. He has done numerous operational deployments domestically in support of civil law enforcement agencies and around the world, including two combat deployments to Afghanistan.

Jeremy holds numerous instructor qualifications including Advanced Small Arms, Urban Operations, CBRN Defence, First Aid, Tactical and Logistic Vehicle Operation, and Leadership. He also holds several qualifications from the Ontario Emergency Management office including Basic Emergency Management and Level 2 Emergency Incident Response Management.

Jeremy started his civilian career as a tactical vehicle and weapons specialist at DEW Engineering, where he influenced product design for major army program bids such as TAPV and ISSP. He also led training program design and delivery for numerous successful projects. He spent several years as the National Sales Manager at Meggitt Training Systems – a global leader in live fire and simulated small arms training systems. Here, he built its multi-million dollar Canadian live fire business unit from the ground up. He currently assists agencies with understanding their operational performance requirements, determining their training needs to meet those objectives, and connects clients and partners with leading industry solutions. He is trusted by leaders in the sector for a responsive approach that is collaborative, creative and delivers results.

Jeremy joined JPOM in September 2022.

Xavier Niamkey

Director, Europe & West Africa | Paris, France

Xavier has a diverse background that includes International Sales, Training, and Deployed Operations on 3 continents – Europe, Asia and Africa.

 His military and operational experience includes Cyber Security and Defence Strategies, Weapons Tactics and Self Defence Training.

 Based in Paris, France, Xavier is currently serving clients in Europe and West Africa. Xavier holds a Bachelor of Marketing and Communications from the Ecole Internationale Tunon in Paris. He is fluent in several languages including: French, Spanish, English, and Arabic. Xavier joined JPOM Canada Inc. in November 2022.

Tracy Osadchuk

Vice President, Business Improvement & Transformation | Surrey, BC

Tracy brings 26 years’ experience in aviation across fixed and rotary wing sectors, in manufacturing, and commercial/defence MRO with Engines, Accessories, Components, and Airframes.  Tracy is also a certified Lean Leader/Facilitator.

Tracy held roles including: Chief Commercial Officer/Vice President Military Sales N. America, Vice President Customer Service, Director Business Improvement and Director Business Systems.  Tracy has worked with most major North American airlines, and cargo carriers, OEMs, the USAF, USN, US Army, Canadian DND, and CCC.

Over her career, Tracy has won major USAF contracts, negotiated OEM commercial / military engine licenses, MRO agreements, and through lean initiatives, business process design and IT systems development, implemented large sustainable savings, with significant improvements in TAT/OTD and customer service.

Tracy holds a degree in Operations Management, from British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT), an MBA with a management consulting specialization from Royal Roads University, a post graduate diploma from Grenoble Graduate School of Business France.

Julian Samuels

Senior Advisor - Capital Markets & Global Finance | Dallas, texas

Julian is Managing Director of OPHDE Advisors - a structured finance and advisory firm serving clients and institutions globally (ophde.com)

He advises JPOM clients and partners on finance and M&A activities and offers experienced advice across a broad range of sectors.

Julian joined JPOM as a Senior Advisor in March of 2023.