Iain Christie has been Executive Vice President of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) since June 2013. He came to AIAC with a long history of achievement in the space industry, having spent 22 years with Neptec Design Group, a spaceflight engineering company.

He worked at NASA’s Johnson Space Center training astronauts, including Canadian Chris Hadfield, and in the Space Shuttle Mission Control Center. Dr. Christie headed the company’s Research and Development (R&D) and Business Development efforts before his appointment as President in 2007 and Chief Executive Officer in 2010. Dr. Christie was a member of AIAC’s Board of Directors from 2010 to 2013 and served as the Vice Chair of the industry-led Space Working Group during the Aerospace Review.

In his current role, he is responsible for the day to day operations of the association, including overseeing all of AIAC’s policy development and analysis. Iain also directly handles for the association’s space and public procurement files and is responsible for the AIAC’s small business strategy.

Iain holds a PhD in Physics from University of Ottawa, a M.Sc. in Physics from Dalhousie University and B.Sc. Honours from University of King’s College. He served as a member of the Canadian Forces Primary Reserve for 12 years, retiring as a Major from the 30^th field regiment of the Royal Canadian Artillery in 1993.

Iain Christie will be a facilitator at the Space R&D workshop, at 2 p.m.