Director, Defense Portfolio Strategy

• Quantify the gap between the Defense market's underlying growth rate and CAE's growth ambition, and maintain a live view of which portfolio moves close it - with what confidence, on what timeline, and at what capital cost.
• Develop CAE's point of view on where Defense capital and capability should be deployed to generate above-market growth, and where they should not.
• Assess portfolio adjacencies, capability gaps, and whitespace across the Defense domain, framing entry, expansion, and exit questions for executive decision.
• Build the build / buy / partner logic for capabilities the Defense portfolio requires.
• Contribute the Defense lens to enterprise portfolio reviews and capital allocation discussions alongside corporate strategy colleagues covering other domains.
• Develop investment cases for new markets, segments, and capability plays, in partnership with the business unit strategy team.

In collaboration with the strategy team colleagues:

• Build and actively cultivate a pipeline of acquisition and partnership candidates aligned to the Defense portfolio thesis, maintaining live relationships well ahead of any formal process.
• Maintain a standing view of the defense industrial landscape - who is consolidating, who is available, where valuations are moving.
• Partner with Corporate Development through diligence and execution; support integration planning where strategic rationale must be preserved.
• Evaluate teaming, joint venture, and partnership structures as alternatives to acquisition.

• Identify, map, and cultivate relationships with startup, scale-up, and pre-IPO companies whose technologies could accelerate CAE's Defense capabilities or threaten its positions.
• Maintain an ongoing landscape view of emerging technologies relevant to simulation, training, and mission readiness.
• Create structured pathways from early engagement through pilot, commercial partnership, investment, or acquisition.
• Connect CAE to relevant venture, accelerator, and defense-innovation ecosystems, sharing that access across the strategy team.

• Bring outside-in intelligence on defense budgets, procurement trends, geopolitical shifts, and competitor moves into both business unit and corporate strategy discussions.
• Contribute to enterprise strategy work beyond Defense where domain insight is relevant - this is a shared-team role, not a single-vertical one.
• Prepare executive-level analysis and briefing materials for the CEO, Executive Committee, and Board.
• Support Government Relations and business unit leadership with strategic context for key customer engagements.

• With the Defense & Security business unit - the BU owns its strategy and operating plan. The Director brings portfolio and transaction perspective to that work and takes the BU's market reality into enterprise portfolio decisions. Joint work products, jointly presented.
• With corporate strategy colleagues - a peer contributing defense depth to a shared team agenda, drawing on colleagues' functional and domain expertise in turn. Enterprise portfolio work remains collective.
• With Corporate Development - origination and strategic framing from this role; transaction execution led by Corporate Development.

• Bachelor's or postgraduate degree in Business, Strategy, Economics, Engineering, International Relations, or a related field; MBA an asset.
• 12+ years in corporate strategy, corporate development, management consulting, or defense/aerospace industry roles.
• Demonstrated experience with portfolio strategy, capital allocation, or build/buy/partner decision-making in a complex global organization.
• Strong command of defense markets, government procurement, and allied defense spending dynamics.
• Direct experience with M&A origination, partnership development, or technology scouting.

• Track record of earning influence without formal authority, and of working effectively as a peer within an established team.
• Strong financial, analytical, and commercial judgement.
• Comfortable operating with ambiguity, across multiple time horizons, in a fast-moving environment.
• Excellent written and verbal communication, including executive-level presentation and narrative skill.
• Ability to obtain and maintain required security clearances.

• Group Insurance.
• Telemedicine Employee and Family Assistance Program.
• Employee Stock Purchase Plan.
• Group RRSP.
• CAE Pension Plan/Defined Benefit Plan.
• Sabbatical Leave.
• Flex Time.
• Enhanced Parental Leave.

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About CAE

At CAE, our mission is clear: to help make the world a safer place. For nearly 80 years, we've driven innovation in simulation, training, and mission readiness to support critical operations worldwide. By leveraging advanced technologies, we empower our customers to operate smarter, faster, and more sustainably. Join a purpose-driven organization where bold ideas are encouraged, collaboration drives progress, and your growth fuels our shared success.