Canadian Defence Supply Chain

Veronica B. Marquez is the founder of Aristeío and brings more than 20 years of experience in strategy, operational excellence, risk management, and organizational transformation. She has supported organizations across the manufacturing, service, and public sectors in structuring their operations, strengthening execution capacity, and navigating major transformations in demanding environments.

A certified Lean Six Sigma Black Belt, Veronica combines strategic perspective, analytical rigour, and hands-on operational experience to help organizations turn complex capacity, performance, compliance, and risk challenges into clear priorities and effective management systems.

She works with leaders to strengthen governance, decision-making mechanisms, strategy deployment, and team alignment so that organizational priorities translate into effective execution. Her approach focuses on building organizations that can grow and transform while maintaining control over their operations, risks, and delivery capacity.

Recognized by PEX Network as one of the world’s Top 50 operational excellence experts and active in graduate-level teaching in operations management at UQAM, Veronica supports Canadian and international organizations facing critical performance, resilience, and transformation challenges.

Sam is a quality assurance and management systems specialist with more than 30 years of experience in the aerospace, software, telecommunications, and defence sectors. A Canadian Armed Forces veteran, he also has direct experience managing subcontractors supporting the Navy, Army, and Air Force, providing him with first-hand knowledge of the requirements associated with military environments and complex supply chains.

As a consultant, trainer, and certified auditor, Sam brings extensive expertise in quality and information security management systems. He holds Lead Auditor qualifications for ISO 9001, AS9100, ISO 27001, and TL9000, as well as the highest level of aerospace auditor qualification, Aerospace Industry Experienced Auditor (AIEA). He is also certified by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) as a Certified Software Quality Engineer (CSQE) and Certified Quality Auditor (CQA).

Over the course of his career, Sam has conducted more than 2,000 management system audits in Canada and internationally. His experience enables him to support organizations in assessing their management systems, improving their processes, and strengthening their ability to meet rigorous quality, compliance, and information security requirements.

Sam also develops and delivers training programs in quality and information security management, particularly in the aerospace sector, and contributes to the development of high-reliability, mission-critical software systems using the CMMI framework.

Sophie Gagnon brings more than 30 years of experience in governance, ethics, compliance, and risk management. An engineer by training, she has held management and executive roles across the manufacturing, service, and public sectors, developing a deep understanding of organizational integrity and the practical application of compliance requirements within operations.

A certified ISO 37001 Lead Implementer, Sophie supports organizations in establishing governance mechanisms designed to prevent bribery, manage conflicts of interest, strengthen transparency, and enable rigorous, traceable decision-making.

As President and Co-Founder of Groupe Philia, she advises executive teams and boards of directors on assessing ethical maturity and implementing governance frameworks aligned with international standards, including ISO 37001 and ISO/IEC 42001 for artificial intelligence governance.

Her experience in investigations and public protection, including with the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, enables her to approach compliance challenges with both rigour and pragmatism. She works particularly in environments where integrity, accountability, traceability, and risk management requirements are critical.

Pierre brings more than 30 years of experience in quality, management systems, continuous improvement, and manufacturing performance. An industrial engineer by training, he spent more than a decade in a corporate quality leadership role with a manufacturing company serving highly regulated sectors, including aerospace, medical, and defence.

Throughout his career, Pierre has led the implementation and maintenance of management systems certified to AS9100, ISO 13485, ISO 14001, and ISO 9001. He also served as the organization’s representative for Canada’s Controlled Goods Program and participated in supplier selection and auditing, developing a strong understanding of the quality, compliance, and supply chain requirements associated with critical environments.

Today, as a quality and productivity consultant, Pierre supports SMEs in structuring their management systems, improving operational performance, and integrating automation solutions suited to their operational realities. His experience in engineering, quality, training, process improvement, and value engineering enables him to address compliance, productivity, and manufacturing capacity challenges from an integrated perspective.

Pierre holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from UQTR and an MBA from HEC Montréal. He is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and a member of the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec. He is also active with ASQ Montréal, contributing to the advancement of quality and continuous improvement practices.

Pierre brings nearly 20 years of experience in manufacturing operations, including several years as a General Manager in the packaging industry. Throughout his career, he has developed extensive expertise in plant management, operational performance, equipment reliability, maintenance, and workforce engagement.

Working directly with manufacturing teams, Pierre specializes in identifying the operational losses and constraints that limit actual production capacity. His practical, results-driven approach combines production data analysis, root cause identification, and a thorough understanding of operational and workforce realities to identify the most valuable opportunities for improvement.

He works with teams to structure operations and implement improvements that deliver sustainable gains in productivity, Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), reliability, and operational capacity, often without requiring major capital investments. His strength lies in his ability to quickly turn operational information into concrete, measurable actions that can be implemented on the shop floor.

Marie-Christine brings more than 20 years of experience in operational transformation, supply chain management, and organizational development. Throughout her career, she has led multidisciplinary teams and held responsibility for functions spanning operations, supply chain, planning, and continuous improvement.

She is particularly skilled at bridging strategy and execution. Her experience enables her to work across processes, management structures, and team engagement to help organizations improve performance and strengthen their execution capabilities.

Marie-Christine supports organizations in optimizing their supply chains, structuring operations and teams, developing performance indicators and management systems, and navigating periods of growth and organizational transformation.

Known for her engaging leadership style and pragmatic approach, she combines strategic perspective with a deep understanding of operational realities to help organizations turn priorities into sustainable results.

Annick brings diverse experience in operations and supply chain management, gained across multiple industries and at different stages of the value chain. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems from McGill University and has worked throughout her career in manufacturing, procurement and sourcing, distribution and transportation, merchandising, and retail.

This broad experience gives her a comprehensive understanding of how different functions interact across an organization. She has developed extensive experience leading multidisciplinary teams, structuring work, and bringing teams together around shared priorities.

Pragmatic and action-oriented, Annick favours agile approaches that reflect operational realities. She excels at developing and implementing concrete action plans to address operational challenges quickly, particularly during periods of high demand or change.

Her approach combines rigour, flexibility, and an understanding of workplace realities to improve how work is organized, facilitate execution, and support sustainable team performance.