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Maxar Technologies announced today that Mike Greenley would become the new Group President of MDA in Canada as of January 15 and will report directly to Maxar president and CEO Howard Lance.
With the appointment of Greenley the senior Canadian management shifts from BC to Ontario as he’ll work at MDA’s Brampton office.
Greenley is an industry veteran having worked 22 years at companies such as Greenley & Associates (his own company), CAE, General Dynamics and most recently L3 Technologies in Burlington, Ontario where he was Sector President. He has a strong defense background and worked nearly six years in Scottsdale, Arizona as vice president international for General Dynamics Mission Systems. According to the press release Greenley was named Defence Executive of the Year by Canadian Defence Review in 2016.
He experience also includes serving as Chair of Board of Directors for the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI) for five years between March, 2012 to 2017 and a member of the Industry Stakeholder Panel for Export Development Canada.
According to a press release issued by Maxar, Greenley’s “responsibilities will include all of the MDA lines of business and its 1,900 employees. Primary locations include Surveillance and Intelligence in Richmond, British Columbia, Ottawa, Ontario, Halifax, Nova Scotia; Robotics and Automation in Brampton, Ontario; and Satellite Subsystems, in Montreal, Quebec.”
Howard Lance, president and chief executive officer of Maxar said “I am extremely pleased to announce this appointment, given Mike’s outstanding track record and over 20 years of experience leading profitable growth for aerospace and defense companies in Canada and internationally. MDA is one of Canada’s most innovative technology companies with an earned reputation as a trusted partner, due to its decades of industry leadership. As a Canadian, Mike’s leadership will continue to reinforce MDA’s ongoing commitment as a partner to the Government of Canada, our commercial customers, and our employees in Canada.”
“I’m honored to be selected to lead MDA, a pioneer of the Canadian space technology industry whose prestige and impact to global customer missions reaches far beyond its borders”, said Mike Greenley. “I’m confident that our deep domain experience, combined with capabilities from Maxar’s portfolio, will enable us to unleash a new level of innovation and technology investment in Canada and an expansion of our exports from Canada to world markets.”
Greenley holds a Master of Science degree and a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree from the University of Waterloo. He is also a 2012 recipient of the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for service to peers and country.
It’s clear Greenley has the background to help MDA push into new Canadian space defense opportunities as they become available. At the recent Canadian Space Summit Brigadier-General Kevin G. Whale, Director General & Component Commander – Space, said over the next five years he will be tripling his staff, adding 120 new positions. Along with that, Canada’s military is expected to get new space capabilities including the Enhanced Satellite Communication Project – Polar.
Greenley replaces Don Osborne who left the company at the end of October 2017.
