Following an impressive 36-year career with the Canadian Armed Forces, DCC’s new Vice-President, Operations—Service Delivery, Karl McQuillan, is no stranger to DND’s unique infrastructure and environmental requirements. Having last served as Canada’s Chief Military Engineer and Chief of Staff (Infrastructure and Environment), Major-General McQuillan (Ret’d) brings a deep knowledge of how the system works, from the tactical to the strategic perspective.
“In the Army, we used the term ‘Supported and Supporting,’” he explains. “The person who actually owns taking the objective is the one who is supported, and everyone else tries to make sure they get on that objective.” He sees DCC as playing a critical “supporting” role, using our strong competency in contracting and contract management to deliver DND’s requirements on time, on target and at the best cost possible.
“The way DCC conducts hiring and builds service lines means there is no type of construction that someone at DCC hasn’t been involved with,” McQuillan says.
This positions DCC to effectively support priorities identified under Canada’s new Defence Policy―Strong, Secure, Engaged ―including family and wellness facilities, the CAF's future capabilities and capacity, and the greening of infrastructure renewal. DCC’s experience in modernizing infrastructure management, through innovations such as expanded private sector partnership and facility management contracts, also offers unique expertise for policy implementation.
“People here at DCC understand how things get delivered by industry, have been there before, and can bring a technical check on how a project will unfold,” McQuillan notes. “And if you need a new speciality or increased capacity because of changing demand, you can get it here.”