Mr. Buxton is the Vice President of Business Development & Ottawa at Vard Marine Inc. Leveraging his 32-years of combined service with the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Coast Guard, and his considerable experience with major acquisition and support programs, he is spearheading the development of new opportunities for VARD in the global government shipbuilding sector.
After completing his Engineering degree at the Royal Military College of Canada, Derek started his career in the military serving in many sea-going and shore-based roles including as the Engineering Officer on HMCS ONONDAGA, an Oberon Class Submarine. He spent four years on exchange duties in Australia with the COLLINS Class submarine program within the Australian Defence Materiel Organisation. Upon returning to Canada he subsequently worked on the acquisition and in-service support of Canada’s VICTORIA Class submarines, finishing his military career in 2007 as the Design Authority for Submarine Platform Systems. Derek has received numerous awards for his distinguished service throughout his Naval career, including citations for his efforts during Operation Deliverance in 1992 and his work on submarine acquisition in 2005.
Derek then spent eleven years with the Canadian Coast Guard in key leadership roles supporting their fleet renewal program, including serving as the Program Manager for the Canadian Polar Icebreaker program. Most recently, as the Senior Director for Future Capability Development, he was responsible for the requirements definition and concept development for the Coast Guard’s future fleet.