Colonel (Ret’d) Richard Fawcett served 34 years in the Canadian Armed Forces before taking on executive roles in the defence industry and joining the ADGA team in September 2020. During his military career, Col (Ret’d) Fawcett served in a variety of command and staff appointments, in Canada and internationally, with both NATO and the United Nations. A graduate of the Royal Military College with a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master Degree in Public Administration, he attended Division 1 of the UK Army staff course at the Royal Military College of Science in Shrivenham, and has also completed myriad military technical, command, and staff courses.

Command experience includes platoon and troop commander in the Canadian Airborne Regiment, commanding officer of 764 Communications Squadron, and of the CCUNPF Headquarters and Support Element, commanding officer of the Canadian Forces Joint Signal Regiment, Commander Canadian Forces Base Kingston and Commander of the Canadian Task Force in the DRC.

Major staff positions include a total of 8 years in the Directorate of Land Requirements, Middle East Asia Section Head in the SHAPE J5 Branch, Chief of Staff of Land Forces Central Area/Joint Task Force Central, and the J6 in the newly formed Canadian Joint Operational Command Headquarters.

Col (Ret’d) Fawcett has participated in three UN Missions: Cyprus (UNFICYP), Former Yugoslavia (UNPF/UNPROFOR), and DR Congo (MONUSCO), where he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff Operations and Commander Task Force Kinshasa. He has also served in three NATO–led operations: IFOR (Bosnia), KFOR (Kosovo), and ISAF (Afghanistan). Finally, he participated in Operation CADANCE, the CAF’s contribution to security operations for the 2010 G8/G20 Summits, where he was the designated CF Incident Commander working in the Integrated Security Unit.

Col (Ret’d) Fawcett retired from the CAF in January 2013 and started a private consulting firm focused on the defence and security market. In January 2014, he joined General Dynamics Canada as the Director of Business Development for the Canadian land and joint markets. His responsibilities primarily concerned the Canadian Army, engaging with the customer in support of both current and future programs, and supporting international opportunities with customer engagement.

Col (Ret’d) Fawcett joined ADGA as Vice-President, Defence in August 2020. His VP role transitioned to Operations in 2022, and to Strategy and Business Development in 2023.

In December 2004, Col (Ret’d) Fawcett was awarded the NATO Meritorious Service Medal; in 2007, he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Military Merit; and in 2010 he was awarded the RCMP Award of Distinction. He was awarded the MONUSCO Force Commander’s Commendation and the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012.