Breaking New Ground—Stories from Defence Construction Breaking_new_ground | Page 132

Prior to his appointment as President and
CEO of DCC in September 2009, James
Paul served as president of a Canadian
information technology company and as
chair of the Canada Science and Technology
Museums Corporation. Over a career
spanning nearly three decades, the
University of Ottawa law graduate held
senior management positions in several
large technology firms.
Responding to a new global reality
As the second decade of the new millennium opened, it
offered a fitting opportunity to reflect on the first 60 years
of Defence Construction Canada’s history and on the
organization’s strong vision for the future.
In the early 1950s, threats to the world’s security were far
more straightforward than they are today: wars then were
most often fought against a clear, identified opponent,
and threats arose from similarly visible sources. Today,
however, Canada is part of the post- 9/11 world, in which
threats—including terrorism, cyberthreats and other
non-traditional sources—are more often asymmetrical,
and we have moved from “traditional” peacekeeping to
an active role in peace enforcement and conflict in
locations such as Afghanistan.
As it has always done, the Department of National
Defence has evolved to reflect this changing reality.
DCC has evolved along with it, meeting—and, in fact,
anticipating—its Client-Partner’s needs. The Canadian
government has responded to the new demands placed
on it by providing more funding for defence infrastructure
to repair and replace under the Canada First Defence
Strategy what was cut back during the program review
of the 1990s—to the point where DCC is working at
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levels beyond to those that marked the intense pace of
the 1950s. It was within this environment that DCC
gained a new President.
Upon the retirement of Ross Nicholls in 2009,
James Paul was appointed President and Chief Executive
Officer of DCC, becoming the Corporation’s fifth president
effective September 8, 2009. He arrived at DCC with
30 years of management and board experience in both
the public and private sectors, particularly in high-
growth environments such as that of DCC.
A former senior executive with several successful
Canadian technology companies, he has managed
fast-growing organizations, chaired a Crown corporation
and developed products for defence applications.
Throughout his career, Jim has worked extensively with
engineers, project managers and contractors on critical
infrastructure projects in the civilian, government and
defence sectors. He has also worked on the planning,
financing and construction of a number of major
building infrastructure projects in Canada, the United
States and Europe. These projects included general
office buildings, as well as specialized technology
facilities such as high-tech manufacturing and semi-
conductor fabrication facilities.
BREAKING NEW GROUND
DEFENCE CONSTRUCTION CANADA