Our Team

Board Members

LGen (ret'd) Guy R. Thibault, CMM, MSC, CD

Chair of the Board
Former Vice Chief of the Defence Staff

Lieutenant-General Guy R. Thibault retired from the Canadian Forces (CF) in August 2016 after 38 years of service. As a General Officer, he served as Commander Land Force Central Area; Deputy Commander Canadian Army; as well as the Defence Deputy CIO/CF J6 and Communications and Electronics Branch Leader.

From 2011-2013 he served in as the first Canadian Chairman of the Inter-American Defense Board an entity of the Organization of American States. He concluded his military service as the Vice Chief of the Defence Staff serving three years as the second in command of the CF and was responsible and accountable to the Chief of the Defence Staff and the Deputy Minister to coordinate and direct strategic programs to ensure defence policy and strategic objectives were achieved.

VAdm (ret'd) Mark Norman, CMM, CD

Vice-Chair (Sea)

Mark Norman retired from the Royal Canadian Navy in the rank of Vice-Admiral in August of 2019 after over 39 years of service.

Norman started his naval service as a reserve diesel mechanic in 1980 and rose through the ranks to be the Vice-Chief of Defence. His military career has seen him serve at sea domestically and internationally, command a warship, the Canadian Atlantic Fleet, and ultimately the Royal Canadian Navy itself. He also has extensive experience in a variety of appointments training & educating sailors, leading operations, strategic planning and managing major procurement projects.

Since retirement, Norman has applied to energy to a variety of pursuits including as Champion for the Royal Canadian Benevolent Fund, Senior Defence Strategist at Samuel Associates, contributing to the important debate about security and defence issues in Canada as both a fellow with the Global Affairs Institute and as a member of the Conference of Defence Associations Board. In his spare time, Mark loses golf balls, skis, and continues perfecting the art of safely crashing his mountain bike.

MGen (ret'd) Michel Lalumiere, CMM, CD

Vice-Chair (Air)

Michel Lalumiere manages International Strategic Development for Canada, at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. Lalumiere joined GA-ASI after 36 years of distinguished service in the Canadian Armed Forces. He led the Defence Space Program and Operations in the CAF, led the procurement efforts in the Royal Canadian Air Force, and served as the Chief Fighter Capability in RCAF, retiring at the rank of Major-General. Active in the Canadian Defence and Security community, Innovation and industrial sectors, Mr. Lalumiere is a committed advocate for innovation in institutions, as well as within professions. Mr. Lalumiere served in numerous operations across Canada from east to west, south to the very far north, as well as in Europe and in Afghanistan.

Rear-Admiral (retired) Jennifer Bennett, CMM, CD

Jennifer Bennett was able to successfully pursue two concurrent careers, one with the Canadian Armed Forces as a member of Canada’s Reserve Force and the other as a teacher and school administrator. She retired from the Canadian Armed Forces in December 2019 after serving for more than 44 years, rising through the ranks to assume key strategic institutional leadership positions, and become Canada’s first female Rear-Admiral, leading, and influencing significant change across the institution.

Following retirement, Rear Admiral (retired) Bennett joined the Navy League of Canada and served as the President for Ontario Division from May 2020 until April 2023 when she was elected as the National President of the Navy League of Canada. She is also a member of the Defence Advisory Board and is a Patron on the Advisory Committee of the Juno Beach Centre.

In 2011, Rear Admiral (retired) Bennett was named as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women as a Public Sector Leader and in 2013 she was promoted from Officer in the Order of Military Merit (OMM) which she received in 2005 to Commander (CMM). She was awarded the Canadian Forces Decoration with three clasps, the Canada 125 medal, Queen’s Golden and Diamond Jubilee Medals and has received two Deputy Minister/Chief of the Defence Staff Excellence in Defence Awards and a Chief of the Defence Staff Commendation.

Colonel (Ret’d) Lawrence Zaporzan, OMM, CD

Colonel (Ret’d) Lawrence Zaporzan was born and raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces in 1978 under the Regular Officer Training Program while at Queen’s University where he continued his studies graduating in 1980 with a BA in Physical Education and a BA in Psychology. He later earned a master’s degree in history from the University of New Brunswick.

Colonel (Ret’d) Zaporzan graduated from Armour Officer in 1981 where he served in the 8th Canadian Hussars (Princess Louise’s) and the Royal Canadian Dragoon in Canada and Germany. He commanded the 8th Canadian Hussars 1999-2001.

In 2003 Colonel (Ret’d) Zaporzan began working within the military diplomacy realm, first as a founding member of the Bi-National Planning Group based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, followed by a posting to Washington, DC as the Assistant Military Attache. He returned to Canada in 2010 for additional training and deployed to Beirut, Lebanon as the Canadian Defence Attache where he was responsible for Lebanon, Syria, Jordan and Cyprus. In 2014 the office was moved to Amman, Jordan and Iraq was added to his area of responsibility. Colonel (Ret’d) Zaporzan retired from the CAF after 37 years service. He returned to the CAF in 2018-2024 where he worked as the lead training and mentoring consultant within the Directorate of Foreign Liaison.