CAE’s President and CEO Marc Parent receives AIAC’s James C. Floyd Award for his exceptional contribution to Canada’s aerospace industry

CAE's  President and Chief Executive Officer, Marc Parent, was awarded the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) James C. Floyd Award for his exceptional achievement and contribution to the success of the Canadian aerospace industry. Mr. Parent was honoured by the aerospace community at a ceremony during the Annual Aerospace Dinner held today in Ottawa.

“In every way, Marc exemplifies what leadership looks like – as an executive, as a passionate champion for aerospace, and as a Canadian. It is our honour to present him with the James C. Floyd award,” said Jim Quick, President and CEO of AIAC. 

“It is with a lot of pride that I accept this award, it is a testament to the perseverance and dedication of CAE’s 10,000 highly-talented employees worldwide, they are each equally deserving of this recognition,” said Marc Parent. “For the past decade, I have enjoyed the privilege of leading a team of men and women with one singular focus: to deliver excellence in training. I am proud to lead this great company, an industry leader, playing a key role in making air travel safer, defence forces mission ready, and medical personnel better able to save lives.” 

Marc Parent was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of CAE in 2009. He has 35 years of experience in the aerospace industry. Passionate about aviation from a young age, Marc became a pilot at 17 and was flying small aircraft before he had a licence to drive a car. He quickly distinguished himself as a leader in his field, taking on increasing responsibility at Bombardier Aerospace and becoming instrumental in its remarkable growth in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Following those achievements, he was brought into CAE to help turn the company around. Under his leadership, CAE became the world leader in aviation training. Today CAE has the broadest global presence in the industry, with customers in 190 countries and over 10,000 employees, 160 sites and training locations in over 35 countries. Each year, the company trains more than 220,000 civil and defense crewmembers, including more than 135,000 pilots, and thousands of healthcare professionals worldwide 

Mr. Parent has served as chair of AIAC and Aero Montreal, and he has participated in numerous government round tables and advisory boards to promote Canadian aerospace growth and achievement. Mr. Parent is passionate about supporting students through work-integrated learning, and under his leadership CAE has offered nearly 3,000 coop and internship positions to Canadian students.

His efforts to create a culture of openness and diversity at CAE resulted in Randstad naming CAE Canada’s 2nd best Employer Brand in 2018. Under Mr. Parent’s leadership, CAE launched just over a year ago a diversity and inclusion initiative aimed at bolstering the participation of women in aviation and engineering, two traditionally male-dominated sectors. In 2019 CAE launched its CAE Women in Flight scholarship program to encourage more young women to become pilots.    

In 2018 Mr. Parent was named CEO of the Year, in the Large Corporation category, by Quebec-based business journal Les Affaires. 

CAE congratulates the other two winners this year, John Saabas who won the Lifetime Achievement Award, and Avior, winner of the Small Business Innovation Technology Award. 

The James C. Floyd Award 

Established in 2009 in honour of the chief engineer on the Avro Arrow project, AIAC's James C. Floyd Award for aerospace achievement is an annual award that honours exceptional contributions to the Canadian aerospace sector. Nominations are submitted by AIAC members and evaluated by an independent review panel. Presented during the Canadian Aerospace Dinner, which is held at the annual Canadian Aerospace Summit, the James C. Floyd Award is given to visionary individuals or teams whose contributions have made a difference in the industry. For additional information, visit www.AIAC.ca