In Our Defence: Why I’ve Joined Anvil

One of my favourite books in recent years was Recoding America by Jennifer Pahlka, the former US Deputy Chief Technology Officer under Barack Obama and one of the founders of the US Digital Service.  

For those who haven’t read it, I found it to be a revealing, balanced and practical analysis of why government technology projects fail. It's effective because Pahlka exposes terrifying inefficiency in these projects, but doesn’t just blame it on ‘the government’ or lazy civil servants. She instead carefully walks through the processes, structures, and incentives which lead to such frustrating outcomes across initiatives as diverse as military satellites, healthcare provision and veterans benefits. She then goes on to talk about the people who painstakingly worked to fix these systems and embed technology successfully in the public sector, and the amazing impact on national progress that this can have when done right.  

I found these stories inspiring. Not just in the outcomes which affected the lives of millions of people, but in the grit and determination of those who resolved to wrench change into outdated systems where many others had just given up. When I read the book, I hoped that someday I would find an opportunity to do something similar.  

I also hoped I would find that opportunity in Canada. I came to Canada as an immigrant and have been given the warmest welcome, including becoming a citizen. Since arriving I’ve founded a company, paid my taxes, and donated considerably to the revenues of Ottawa’s craft breweries, but I want to find more substantive ways to contribute to the country which has given me so much.

I believe I’ve found one of those opportunities in a field that needs urgent attention.

The last 12 months has seen belated public recognition not just in Canada but across the UK and Europe of the importance of strong defence forces to national sovereignty and prosperity. That recognition has provoked a more thorough interrogation of national capabilities and interdependence, and various nations, including Canada, have realised they are sorely underprepared.  

Some of the observations in last year’s Report of the Standing Committee on National Defence on reforming defence procurement in Canada could have come straight from Pahlka’s book. Capabilities vital to our national interest have degraded because, among other factors, incentives have evolved to promote process and risk aversion rather than outcomes.  

To focus in on one aspect, Canada’s recent Artificial Intelligence Strategy for The Department of Defence had some stark admissions:

• ‘No roadmap exists to move the organization towards leveraging AI effectively to ensure that investments are coordinated and appropriately governed, or to develop the capabilities, attitude, and skills to implement AI effectively, safely, and responsibly.’
• ‘Traditional styles of leadership have tended to vest authority at the top and reward conformity rather than innovation.’
• ‘Our processes limit our capacity to procure or collaborate with others to develop AI, hampering experimentation and innovation.’
• ‘Members have described their specialization in AI and related fields as career limiting and speak of having to choose between remaining within their technical field and a career path that would lead to promotion.’
• ‘Overall levels of data literacy are low, AI skills are scarce, and personnel with AI knowledge are in short supply.’ 

While this is only one narrow example of technological development in defence, I expect some of the conclusions resonate elsewhere. We have significant technological challenges to meet this critical moment, we’re behind, and there’s an enormous amount of work to do to give those who serve our country the support they deserve.

This type of transparency is important and admirable, but awkward. It often elicits one of two responses - a doomerism about the state of the nation, or, to paraphrase another’s words, an urgent determination to do something about it.  

Sam, Bennett, Brad, Dom and the whole team at Anvil epitomise the latter. It’s not possible to start and build a software company in the defence sector if you’re not fully committed to the mission. They have put in the work. Over several years, they have embedded with the Canadian Armed Forces to truly understand their challenges and where technology can deliver transformational outcomes rather than a tick in a procurement checkbox. Their talent, grit and dedication has dramatically improved the standard of tools and technology that our national defence forces have access to at this critical moment. All built in Canada.  

To help them meet demand and scale the company, I’m excited to say I have joined them as their Chief of Staff. My career so far has exposed me to a range of scaling challenges across strategy, product, sales, marketing and operations. I’d like to think I’ve also developed the stubbornness and perseverance I know will also be called on. As Anvil grows, I will be offering strategic support to Sam and the executive team while using my experience to run various projects and accelerate the company’s progress in critical areas. This move returns me to the world of security and intelligence which I spent the first eight years of my career in at S-RM and combines my work in both software and services. I’m excited to put all my experience towards strengthening Canadian national defence and to do it at Anvil. It’s the right role, at the right time, in the right company. 

In my earlier career I worked with others in the defence sector and some excellent former members of the British and US Armed Forces. As I settle in, I’ll be reaching back out to my network but in the meantime if you are interested in Anvil and what we’re doing (or might want to work here), please get in touch.

Now back to the mission.