National Security Boardroom Brief | Inside NATO: Strategy, Investment, and How to Engage

Event Overview

As geopolitical risk accelerates, NATO is scaling investment across defence, advanced technology, and resilience—opening real pathways for private sector engagement.

Join the University of Ottawa’s Professional Development Institute for a focused discussion on where NATO is heading and how organizations can practically access this market. Featuring senior leaders with direct experience inside the Alliance, this session will cut through surface-level commentary to examine how decisions are made, where priorities are shifting, and how partners are selected.

The conversation will also ground these insights in a Canadian context—what this means for Canadian organizations, where the entry points are, and how to navigate a complex, relationship-driven system.

Featuring:

• Kerry Buck, former Canadian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to NATO
• Wendy Gilmour, former NATO Assistant Secretary General, Defence Investment
• Andrea Beauvais, Senior Communications Advisor and Project Manager, Deloitte

Whether you are in government, industry, or academia, this session will provide a clearer view of how NATO actually operates—and what it takes to engage effectively in a competitive international environment.

Speakers

Kerry Buck, former Canadian Ambassador and Permanent Representative to NATO

Kerry Buck joined Canada’s then Department of External Affairs and International Trade in 1991. She most recently was Assistant Secretary to the Treasury Board responsible for economic sector. Prior to that she served as Canada’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council (NATO). Previous senior diplomatic positions include Political Director and Assistant Deputy Minister for International Security and Political Affairs, Assistant Deputy Minister for Africa, for Latin America and the Caribbean, head of the Afghanistan Task Force, Director General for the Middle East and Maghreb and Director for Human Rights. She was also posted to the Canadian Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York. Outside of the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada, Ms. Buck served in the Privy Council Office, the Canadian Human Rights Commission, the International Development Research Centre and the Constitutional Law Bureau of the Office of the Attorney General of Ontario.

Wendy Gilmour, former NATO Assistant Secretary General, Defence Investment

Wendy Gilmour served for 34 years in Canada’s foreign affairs and national defence departments, including: on secondment to NATO as Assistant Secretary General, Defence Investment; Canada’s High Commissioner (Ambassador) to Pakistan; Director General Trade and Export Controls; and Director General International and Industry Programs and Deputy National Armaments Director. She also served in Canadian diplomatic missions abroad in Zimbabwe, the United Kingdom and Nigeria; and on international peace operations missions in the Office of the High Representative to Bosnia and Herzegovina, and as a Political Advisor (POLAD) to the first three Commanders of NATO’s Kosovo Force in Pristina, Kosovo.

Post 9/11, she was assigned to the Canadian Joint Task Force South-west Asia in US CENTCOM, and subsequently to Ottawa as Director Peace Operations, i.a. supporting Canada’s deployment to ISAF, with responsibility for the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Kandahar, Afghanistan, and as Director Sudan, with responsibility for Canadian support for the peace process in Darfur and South Sudan. She also served as POLAD to the Commander North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) in Colorado Springs, USA. Ms. Gilmour holds a BA (Honours) in Political Studies and History from Queen’s University at Kingston, and served in the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve as a Logistics Officer.

Andrea Beauvais, Senior Communications Advisor and Project Manager, Deloitte

Andrea Beauvais is a Senior Communications Advisor and Project Manager at Deloitte, specializing in strategic communications and digital transformation within defence and national security environments. She brings a unique blend of executive advisory and frontline intelligence experience, having previously served with the Ontario Provincial Police and the Communications Security Establishment. She is known for translating complex, sensitive, and technical material into clear, decision-ready narratives for senior leaders. Andrea is also a published professional writer and narrative collaborator, focused on political memoirs and long-form nonfiction that contribute to Canada’s public record.