Derek Buxton has 32 years of combined service with the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Coast Guard and is currently 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. He spent four years on exchange duties in Australia with the COLLINS Class submarine program, and subsequently worked on the acquisition and in-service support of Canada’s VICTORIA Class submarines upon his return to Canada. He then finished his military career in 2007 as the design authority for submarine platform systems. Derek spent eleven years with the Canadian Coast Guard in key leadership roles supporting its renewal program, and most recently was responsible for the requirements definition and concept development for the Coast Guard’s future fleet.