The new head of the Alliance of Canadian Defence Companies has personal and professional motivations for wanting a stronger domestic defence sector. Dasha Cohen, who took on her new role as executive director of the fledgling Ottawa-based organization last week, says she’s champing at the bit to work with ACDC’s more than 200 member companies […]
The new head of the Alliance of Canadian Defence Companies has personal and professional motivations for wanting a stronger domestic defence sector.
Dasha Cohen, who took on her new role as executive director of the fledgling Ottawa-based organization last week, says she’s champing at the bit to work with ACDC’s more than 200 member companies as they try to play their part in beefing up Canada’s sovereign defence capabilities.
It’s an issue close to her heart. For Cohen, a native of Kyiv who moved to Canada 13 years ago, war is not just hypothetical — it’s a reality that hits close to home as the conflict in Ukraine rages on.
“My whole family is in Ukraine and a lot of my peers are on the front lines,” says Cohen, who now lives in Toronto with her husband and two children.
Launched in February, ACDC is co-chaired by Eliot Pence, founder and CEO of Ottawa-based Dominion Dynamics, and Paul Ziade, co-founder and CEO of Calgary’s North Vector Dynamics.
The group bills itself as “an industry-led trade association” that will lobby government on its members’ behalf and “foster deeper co-ordination across the defence supply chain” as Canada looks to bolster its defence infrastructure in vulnerable areas such as the Arctic.
Cohen, who ran her own communications consulting firm before joining ACDC, brings a mix of technical expertise and the soft skills required to forge relationships between industry and government officials.
Cohen earned an aerospace engineering degree in Ukraine, where she worked in aviation operations and other fields. She switched gears when she moved to Canada, studying public relations at Humber College before embarking on a career in communications at institutions such as Ryerson University (now Toronto Metropolitan University).
At Ryerson, Cohen lobbied industry and government officials about the importance of funding research and capital projects. As a consultant, her clients included defence-tech companies looking to secure federal contracts.
“I’ve always been really interested in how government works and how it interacts with an industrial base,” she says.
That experience should serve her well in her new job. Barely two weeks in, Cohen has hit the ground running — she’s already met with more than a dozen ACDC members in an effort to better understand the barriers they face when trying to do business with the Department of National Defence.
“It’s been really eye-opening to hear some of these stories,” she says.
Cohen spent her first week as executive director in the National Capital Region visiting some of the region’s 300-plus defence-tech enterprises. She believes many Ottawa firms that haven’t traditionally focused on defence are eager to play a bigger role in the industry, citing one business she toured, Brawn Construction, as an example.
“They’re not EllisDon,” she says. “They don’t have the $50-$100-million projects that some of these other giant construction companies have, but they can be such a wonderful partner.”
Seeking 'cleaner definition' of Canadian
Cohen says federal government initiatives such as the new Defence Industrial Strategy aimed at boosting the share of military contracts awarded to Canadian-owned and headquartered companies are a step in the right direction. But she says more needs to be done to ensure that federal money ends up where it’s supposed to.
“I think before we can build a truly sovereign defence industrial base, we need a much cleaner definition of what that is,” Cohen explains. “That’s my priority right now.
“I want to make sure that as Canada grows its defence industrial base that it benefits meaningfully our own supply chains in Canada, how it grows our companies here. One of the questions that I’m looking at is what truly makes a Canadian defence company Canadian. It’s not just where it’s incorporated or who’s on the board, it’s who owns it, who controls it, where does IP reside, where does the tech expertise reside.
“I think the more we focus on having a clear definition of what a Canadian company is, the more we can direct that support and investment to the companies that operate in Canada.”
The feds are making strides when it comes to streamlining defence procurement, she says. But Cohen thinks a “more graduated” system that allows companies that achieve certain milestones to move to the next stage of the process would benefit smaller firms that are often shut out of military deals.
She also hopes to help create a pathway for more businesses to test their technology in real-world situations. Cohen says she’d love to see a Canadian version of Ukraine’s Defence Builder, a two-year-old accelerator that helps early-stage startups convert working prototypes into combat-ready, field-tested technologies.
In Canada, Cohen notes, organizations such as Ottawa-based defence investment fund One9 are also working to strengthen pathways between emerging technologies and end-users.
“It’s really important to be able to understand what is currently happening on the battlefield,” she says.
ACDC is well-positioned to be a liaison between the defence startup ecosystem and the federal government, Cohen adds.
In an ideal world, she says, government organizations such as the newly formed Defence Investment Agency would “proactively approach” Canadian companies about building specific technologies. ACDC could then “help form a coalition (of companies) or a full stack of capabilities” to deliver the project.
Cohen, who says she may eventually relocate to the National Capital Region, is starting her new role at a pivotal time for the Canadian defence industry.
Canada, she says, is waking up to the realization that it needs to become more self-reliant at protecting its own borders as the U.S. takes a more isolationist stance.
“As geopolitics change, we’re seeing some of our partners being less reliable, and as Prime Minister (Mark Carney) said, (we) need to have greater diversity with our trusted allies,” she says.
“I saw this as a real opportunity for me to make a meaningful difference. I’m really invested in this on a personal level, but also I’m really excited to see what we’re able to do with ACDC to (create) a stronger voice for Canadian companies.”
