Carter Copeland is Chief Strategy and Performance Officer and is a member of the Executive Management Committee. In his role, he is responsible for cultivating strategic plans aimed at driving growth in key areas, as well as optimizing organizational performance. He works in partnership with CAE’s Executive Management Committee, with a particular focus on the company’s growth agenda, as well as areas of resource allocation and organizational design. Additionally, he has responsibility for the ongoing evaluation of CAE’s business portfolio and leads enterprise-wide special projects for the Office of the CEO. He also oversees CAE’s Global Procurement and Supply Management function, as well as the Structured Finance and M&A function.
Prior to joining CAE in 2021 as Senior Vice President, Global Strategy, Copeland served as the President and co-founder of Melius Research, an independent research, consulting, and data analytics firm focused both on traditional industrial firms as well as emerging industrial technology companies. At Melius, Copeland also served as Senior Analyst for the firm’s Global Aerospace and Defense research practice. He is a co-author of the book Lessons from the Titans, which details the successes and failures of some of the world’s largest and most influential companies in an effort to help new economy firms avoid longstanding pitfalls and achieve sustainable, long-term success.
Before co-founding Melius, Copeland was Managing Director and Senior Analyst covering the Global Aerospace and Defense sector for Barclays PLC. Prior to Barclays, he held various roles of increasing responsibility in the aerospace and defense research practice at Lehman Brothers. During this time, he was consistently rated by Institutional Investor magazine as one of the most influential aerospace and defense analysts on Wall Street. Before beginning his career on Wall Street, Copeland served on the staff of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., aiding in monetary policy work and conducting corporate finance research.
Copeland graduated with honors from the University of Alabama, with a degree in Economics. He also holds an MBA from Washington University in St. Louis, where he was a recipient of the prestigious Wood Fellowship. He is a Chartered Financial Analyst and formerly served as a member of the Corporate Leaders program on the Council of Foreign Relations.
