Joel Houde is the Vice President and General Manager for the international division of General Dynamics Mission Systems, where he provides executive oversight to a business unit of General Dynamics that delivers mission-critical, cyber-secure systems for military and government organizations worldwide.
With more than 25 years of multinational expertise within the defence, aerospace and fibre optics industries, Mr. Houde has built his leadership career in program management and process improvement, systems engineering, manufacturing, and mechanical design, with a focus on multimillion-dollar sub-systems and large systems integration programs, electronic manufacturing, and production.
Mr. Houde's career with General Dynamics began in 2004, when he first joined General Dynamics Mission Systems–Canada as Manager of the Project Management office. In 2009, he became Acquisition Program Manager for the Company’s Maritime Helicopter Program—and over the next several years, moved into roles increasing responsibilities for some of the firm’s most challenging and complex integration programs. This included acting as Senior Program Manager of the Armored Brigades Program in 2012, in which he oversaw the successful design, integration and delivery of a complex C4S system for approximately 1,000 light armored vehicles.
In 2017, Mr. Houde became Senior Director of the Company’s Land and Joint Solutions line of business. Promoted to Vice President of the business area in 2019, he then led a team of over 400 professionals to supply advanced Tactical Communication Information Systems, Computing and Displays and Advanced Platform Electronics including Fire Control Systems. Through mid-2022, Mr. Houde’s leadership helped the Company achieve great success—surpassing its financial plans over five consecutive years, achieving General Dynamics’ profit and cash targets, and growing the business line year-over-year.
While VP of Land and Joint, Mr. Houde also held the role of Vice President for Enterprise Program Management—supporting the effective execution of programs, and the development of program managers, to increase overall program and business performance across the enterprise.
Prior to joining General Dynamics, Mr. Houde worked in the aerospace industry for various large Canadian spacecraft and subsystem providers including EMS Technologies, Canadian Astronautics Limited, and Spar Aerospace.
Mr. Houde holds a Bachelor’s of Applied Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Ottawa. He is also a licensed Professional Engineer and a certified Project Management Professional.