October 2018 Speaker's Night

"Success and challenges in the Canadian Coast Guard's Fleet Renewal Program"

RAdm (ret'd) Andy Smith was appointed Deputy Commissioner, Strategy and Shipbuilding at the Canadian Coast Guard (CCG) in August 2017.

In this capacity he is responsible for providing strategic leadership to further advance the Coast Guard’s Fleet Renewal Plan. He also leads CCG commitments under the Oceans Protection Plan aimed at improving Canada’s ocean stewardship role, strengthening the maritime safety regime and promoting a renewed dialogue with indigenous peoples.

Prior to joining the Coast Guard, Andy was the Associate Assistant Deputy Minister of the Real Property Branch (RPB) at Public Services and Procurement Canada from 2013 to 2017 where he was responsible for providing national functional leadership for the real property business lines and leading large-scale change management initiatives.

Before joining the Public Service, Andy completed 34 years of service in the Royal Canadian Navy. Following 9/11 he was deployed to the South West Asia theatre of operations as the Task Group Technical Officer as part of Canada’s naval effort in the war against terrorism. He subsequently commanded the Fleet Maintenance Facility Cape Scott in Halifax, NS. He spent the latter part of his career in the military HR realm, and upon promotion to the rank of Rear-Admiral in 2010 he was appointed the Chief of Military Personnel providing strategic-level direction, policy, and support for regular and reserve military personnel.

Andy holds a Bachelor's Degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Royal Military College of Canada (1984) and Masters Degrees in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering (1992) and Industrial and Operations Engineering (1992) from the University of Michigan.