FA: How has the industry changed since you began to work in aerospace?

JW: I’ve been in aerospace for twenty-five years, and I find the most significant change is that Canada has, unfortunately, gone from number three to number five in the industry. Partly because governments elsewhere have strongly supported aerospace, while sup- port from the Canadian government has diminished.

I started my career at McDonnell Douglas. At the time, the company had about 5,000 employees and 1.3 million square feet of factory space. Today, it’s just a parking lot which is disappointing because of the history and legacy behind the building. The site was the place where the Avro Arrow was designed and built. The Iroquois engine was constructed across the way with underground tunnels at Magellan, the second stop in my career. Today, Magellan is still there building engine components.

If I look over twenty-five years, I think that government support has diminished, which has led us to be a country that exports 80% of what we do in aerospace. The situation is not ideal because the industry could move and go anywhere. The federal and provincial governments are listening, but we need to work together quickly to utilize some tools to build the industry up again. On the positive side, we have organizations like the Ontario Aerospace Council (OAC), Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC), and DAIR trying to work together to build the industry.

FA: Where do you see the industry going?

JW: One thing that I never thought we would see in aerospace is the building of electric and hybrid technology. The innovation coming out of green technology and the air mobility side of the aerospace world is exciting to see. Hopefully, MHI Canada can get on board with Ontario and Mississauga to shape that fraction of the industry a little more. Having said that, we also need to ensure that our industry attracts and retains labour. Without this, we will be in trouble. With our technology and innovation moving forward and bringing work, we need to have the capacity. That’s why it’s critical to work harder than ever with the likes of DAIR and academia to build our attractiveness.

FA: How has MHI contributed to Mississauga, Ontario, and Canada’s aerospace industry? What does the future hold for the sector in the region?

JW: When MHI Canada came to Canada, they started with 90,000 square feet. When I started here in 2016, we had 270,000 square feet, and now we’re over 450,000 square feet. Initially, MHI’s strategy was to build airplanes in Ontario, not parts. But they realized a support system was in Ontario, which started with the Avro and continued with McDonnell Douglas and Boeing, Bombardier and De Havilland; since they had suppliers, they began to transfer parts. We’ve brought over 20,000 individual part numbers to North Ameri- ca, and we’re the largest on-load of Tier-one wings and fuselage to Canada. We’ve also brought 800 jobs to the Mississauga area. We don’t usually hear of jobs transferring from Japan to Canada, but the company realized the skill set was here, so MHI Japan brought the jobs over, and then we started onboarding suppliers. When I started in 2016, there were five North American suppliers; now, we are up to sixty-five North American suppliers. Ten of those part suppliers are from Mississauga.

We also want to help academics and suppliers grow, and we’re continually working with industries, colleges, and universities. I’m on the Mississauga Board of Trade, where we have MERG, a committee that talks about developing aerospace and manufacturing. One of the things we understand is that we have to get out there and engage with the colleges and universities to help build the industry and continue our growth.

FA: Has COVID pivoted MHI’s future plans?

JW: For MHI, the most significant plan pre-covid was to become self-sufficient from Japan. Many of our operations are done out of Japan, and we are slowly bringing that to Mississauga. Unfortunately, COVID has slowed down plans, but we are getting back on track. We are also looking to diversify our customer base. We are also working with OEMs to look into aerospace’s military and de- fence side to help fill in the cyclical gaps of commercial aerospace.

FA: How should aerospace be promoted to the next generation of Ontarians?

JW: When I started my career, I found aerospace intriguing, and I think we need to show youth the fascinating parts of our industry. Artificial intelligence and green technology are all at the forefront of research and development, which is happening in aerospace. Still, we don’t do a good job at showing young people that. Some may think aerospace is boring because it’s math and science, but we need to change the narrative and show that aerospace is everything and for everyone. There is a place for people going into mar- keting, finance, public relations, and event planning in aerospace. When it comes to industry promotion, I do think we’re still think- ing old school, but getting out on social media can be one way of showing youth what aerospace does and what it has to offer as an industry. We also need to get to the parents and the guidance counsellors at a grade school level to show off jobs and aerospace.

“… We need to change the narrative and show that aerospace is everything and for everyone.”

At the same time, I think there needs to be a concentrated effort on putting the word out. It’s one thing for me to do through MHI Canada, but we need to think about what we can do in Ontario. Getting the word out there is essential, but we must do it together and figure out how to be smarter and better as a team to get the message out.

FA: As the first female CEO and President of MHI Canada, can you talk about your career path in aero- space and what led you to the role you’re in today?

JW: I didn’t have a dream to be an aerospace engineer in the least bit. I decided to go to Queen’s University engineering because the program started with a general first year, and I later decided to study mechanical engineering. When I graduated, I knew I wanted to work in either aerospace or automotive. I don’t know why but I found those were interesting industries. I was eventually offered a job as a financial analyst at McDonnell Douglas. I did get questioned about taking a financial analyst role when I worked hard to get an engineering degree. I later found out I was offered the position because of my engineering background. At the time, McDonnell Douglas was looking for someone with technical knowledge to understand the shop floor and admired how engineers think. I was at McDonnell Douglas for four years before I went to Magellan, and that’s when I went into production planning.

Seven years ago, the previous President’s CEO called me up, and he wanted me to come in and talk about becoming the Vice Presi- dent of Operations. I was supply chain at the time, so I was hesitant, but then they had an opening for a supply chain role. Today, I’m doing the job he envisioned I could do, but I lacked confidence in myself.

From a career standpoint, I would have never thought I would be here as the first female President and CEO of a Japanese subsidi- ary. I just progressed up the ladder from when I was a financial analyst and had many people who had faith in me. There were a few bumps in the road, especially as a female. Looking back, the only thing I regret is not having more faith in myself, and that’s what I tell everybody – if somebody sees something in you, have faith in yourself because they may see something that you might not see in yourself.

“From a career standpoint, I would have never thought I would be here as the first female President and CEO of a Japanese subsidi- ary. I just progressed up the ladder from when I was a financial analyst and had many people who had faith in me.”

FA: What is the value of working with DAIR?

JW: If I had to use two words to describe DAIR, it would be collaboration and innovation. DAIR working with organizations to move forward in an exciting time for aerospace has been great for us and has supported our sector. DAIR’s ability to help companies like ours innovate and collaborate with OEM’s, Tier-ones, small to medium enterprises, and the government has been great for us and has strengthened Ontario’s competitiveness.