A passion for aviation: engineer, pilot and strategic financial manager Gilles Ouimet, CMA, FCMA, navigates success at P&WC. (Profile).

Gilles Ouimet, CMA, FCMA, has been entranced by flight since his days as a student at the Royal Military College of Canada. This love of aeronautics has translated into a long and successful career in the industry, capped recently with his appointment as the new chairman of Pratt & Whitney Canada (P&WC). Talking to him, he readily betrays his fondness for what he does.

P&WC, based in Longueuil, Quebec, is a world leader in aviation engines powering business and regional aircraft and helicopters. The company also offers advanced engines for industrial applications. The company works with two types of customers: aircraft and helicopter manufacturers, and aircraft and helicopter users, such as airlines. There are 30 or so manufacturers and some 9,000 operators, found in more than 180 countries, using 40,000 engines made by P&WC.

Ouimet considers operators particularly important customers because in addition to using maintenance services, they buy the aircraft from the manufacturers that do business with P&WC. They have a strong influence on the choices of engines manufacturers make for future generations of aircraft.

Military roots

The path that brought Ouimet to his current employer is an impressive if somewhat unusual one. He first earned a bachelor's degree in engineering physics from the Royal Military College of Canada in the late 1960s, specializing in aeronautics and nuclear engineering. He then became an aeronautics engineer in the Air Force, a position he held for three years.

During that time, the young lieutenant had the opportunity to manage first-line service for the fleet of CF-104s in Cold Lake, Alberta. When promoted to captain, he ran an operation of some 200 people. "I found it fascinating to manage the service, which was similar to a small company," he explains enthusiastically. The challenges of having the largest number of aircraft available each morning and a team and hangars at his disposal won his heart. Leadership, planning and management made him realize that what motivated him were not the theoretical and technical aspects but working with people and achieving something as part of a larger group.

What finally persuaded him to leave the army was his transfer to headquarters in Ottawa. After a few months at his post in the national capital, Ouimet decided he wasn't ready to settle in and wait for retirement. Admitted to Queens University, he left the army to do an MBA in finance. In 1972, after completing his studies, he spent a year with Quebec Cartier Mining Corp. as a financial analyst, the same work he did next at Northern Telecom. Shortly thereafter, Guimet was made director of financial analysis for one of Northern Telecom's major divisions, then controller of two progressively larger divisions.

After joining Northern Telecom's finance department in 1973, Ouimet "searched the waterfront" for an intense, focused and practical program that would strengthen his business expertise. After a thorough examination of all available options, he enrolled in the CMA program, earning his designation in 1976.

"My goal going in was to learn how to use a deeper understanding of financial and accounting principles as the basis for sound long-range strategic decision making," he says. "Looking back on it today, that's exactly what the CMA program gave me.

A year later, he found a way to put this financial and strategic management expertise to work, when he joined Pratt & Whitney Canada as the firm's controller.

Thorough knowledge, strong expertise

Since aviation and aeronautics still held an important place in Ouimet's heart, he was easily convinced to join P&WC when the company was looking for a controller in 1977. His rise there was comparatively rapid. He became vice-president, finance, in 1980; vice-president, operations, in 1984 (on the strength of his work at P&WC and Northern Telecom); and soon after, senior vice-president, operations.

In 1988, Ouimet made a bigger leap -- into the role of senior vice-president, marketing and customer support. "That was a very interesting experience because my new duties called on my knowledge of aerospace, our products, the market and the industry," he notes.

"Pratt & Whitney Canada, like many progressive companies, puts a premium on multiple skill sets and on the ability to integrate different functions," he explains. "In that regard, the structure, content and approach of the CMA program is very much in tune with the needs of today's business organizations."

Ouimet's understanding of all aspects of the company's operations paid off handsomely. In 1994, he was named P&WC's president and chief operating officer, a position he held until April 2000, when he was named president and CEO. Then, in spring 2002, he was named chair of the company.

"My career path through the various segments of the company has been great fun and very satisfying," he says. He feels that the key to being at ease in various senior positions in a company is to have a thorough knowledge of the industry and its dynamics, the clientele, the products and the factors that drive it. Such knowledge, especially when combined with his engineering and financial management expertise, has served him well throughout his career.

Ouimet is a pilot who owns and flies his own airplane and has had his pilot's license for 17 years, so even on his off time he keeps abreast of the technical side of the business he's in. His passion for the industry has played an important role in his career, but the analytical and strategic financial management skills he acquired from his CMA studies have also played a key role in the way his career has advanced over the years. It has helped him contribute to the strategic decision-making processes at P&WC throughout his tenure there.

When asked about the major challenges facing good management today, Ouimet answers that the real issue is leadership. "You can run a company by performing all the necessary tasks but the company can still move in the wrong direction," he explains. He feels that regardless of its size, every company that hopes to be competitive needs to have leadership that allows it to continually reinvent itself.

He no longer sees his main role as making sure that engines leave the factory every day. Ouimet has a staff to do that. Instead, he sees his responsibility as creating a future for P&WC, understanding how needs, markets and the industry are evolving, anticipating the impacts of globalization and devising strategies to continually position the company more successfully. "Success is based on making certain choices," he says. That implies saying no to certain opportunities and building up resources in order to be ready to seize others -- not a simple challenge. "The more successful a company is, the harder it is for it to reinvent itself," he declares.

Ouimet is most proud of the way the company's teamwork and employee development have evolved during his years at P&WC. Developing a new engine could take six to seven years in the late '70s and five years in the late '80s. Now it takes no more than three years to certify a new family of engines. Such success is, of course, linked to the use of better tools, but in Ouimet's view, it's also due at least in part to fundamental changes in how employees work at all levels of the company. Breaking down barriers that isolate employees and opening up private reserves of talent have made a tremendous contribution to P&WC's successes.

It is Gilles Ouimet's nature to be communicative and open with people. He has an open door policy at his office and is by no means reluctant to push up his sleeves and talk to employees at various levels to get answers to his questions. His attitude toward his fellow human beings is also reflected in his charitable work, which includes involvement in Greater Montreal Centraide since the early '90s. He has been chair of its board since 2000.

In 2000, Ouimet was named a Fellow of The Society of Management Accountants (FCMA), which is a prestigious national honorary designation awarded to CMAs who demonstrate excellence in management accounting, a commitment to the CMA designation and their professional association, and a civic-mindedness that enriches their community. The fellowship recognized Ouimet's outstanding work in making Pratt & Whitney Canada a world-renowned aeronautical manufacturer, as well as his extensive involvement in advancing the management accounting profession and enhancing understanding of the valuable role CMAs play in the global marketplace.

Ouimet's management style is clearly reflected in his social commitment. He likes to pitch in, and he listens to people to learn how to improve whatever he is doing. This engaged attitude, which brought him to the position of chair at P&WC, will no doubt continue to hold him in good stead throughout his tenure there.

Julie Demers ([e-mail]) is associate French editor of CMA Management magazine.