Former Chief of the Defence Staff to Lead Canadian Space Agency
Retired General Walter Natynczyk Tasked to Lead the Canadian Space Agency [Watch], SpaceRef Canada
“Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced today that General (Retired) Walter John Natynczyk, former Chief of the Defence Staff, is to become the President of the Canadian Space Agency, effective August 6, 2013”
Marc’s note: I’ve included a 30 minute interview from Canada’s version of C-SPAN, CPAC, from a show called Beyond Politics. It gives you an idea who Walter Natynczyk is.
It seems like every space nation has to be run by a general at least once.
But they’re not all created equal. Natynczyk is very much a people person. He has achieved results in his career because his people appreciate that he’s been in their corner day to day, working on their behalf, which is the most important task of a leader, and a task at which many bosses clearly fail. I predict that he will succeed at the CSA in the same manner. The only real problem he faces is that the current annual CSA budget will just about fit in his pocket. So much to do and so little money.