biography

In January 2018, Mr. Dave Spagnolo was appointed President & CEO of SYSTRA North America. He has over 30 years of experience in mission-critical industries of Defence, Aerospace and Transportation. He has a passion for speed, innovation and competitiveness, and is now leading SYSTRA’s growth in North America, as well as export markets.

Prior to joining SYSTRA, Mr. Spagnolo led Thales for 20 years in a variety of roles:

  • In 2014, Mr. Spagnolo was appointed Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Vice President for Thales Canada Transportation. He was responsible for leading the transformation of the Urban Rail team, implementing project management improvements, establishing a low cost Indian engineering centre, and overseeing other productivity improvements.
  • Between 2012 and 2014, he was Chief Operation Officer of Thales Canada, overseeing the transverse functions, as well as the Aerospace, Defence and Transportation units.
  • From 2001 to 2012, Mr. Spagnolo was the General Manager of the Thales Defence & Security team, growing from a 60 people, $10M business to 350 people and $150M of revenues.
  • Mr. Spagnolo joined Thales in 1996 as a Software Team Lead and two years later became Software Department Head.

Mr. Spagnolo also graduated from the Royal Military College and served 12 years in the Canadian Armed Forces as a Naval Officer.

In addition, Mr. Spagnolo served as a Director on the Board of the Canadian Association of Defence & Security Industries and the Board of the Aerospace Industries Association Canada.

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