“One thing I love about working in the defense industry is its connection to the mission," Nick Coucoules, Vice President, CAE USA

In today’s workplace, a strong leadership team can play a crucial role in fostering a culture of trust, transparency, and accountability, and in cultivating an environment where innovation flourishes, employee engagement thrives, and organizational success is achieved.

At CAE our leadership plays a pivotal role each day in helping shape our culture and the success of our teams. By engaging with employees and inspiring them to collaborate, and work towards a common vision, our leaders guide, inspire, and motivate those around them, provide direction during uncertainty and celebrate and recognize our employees in times of success.

Recently, Amanda Haddadin, MBA, Talent Acquisition Specialist CAE USA, sat down with Nick Coucoules, Vice President of Programs at CAE’s Tampa, FL office to gain a closer look at his employee experience at CAE.

Nick joined CAE six years ago as a Program Manager supporting the MH-60 product line. Today, Nick has advanced his career and is Vice President of Programs, (specifically Airlift & Tanker), and oversees a team of 350 employees who are aligned to multiple disciplines: Program Management, Engineering, Logistics, and Instruction & Training.

“We are a large business, but it always feels like a small business. My job provides me with the opportunity to know people from all departments, even though I don’t necessarily work with them directly, and enables me to create relationships with people in all of our locations,” says Nick  

Being part of a military family, Nick is proud of their service and for instilling in him a passion for the defense industry that has permitted him to entirely dedicate his career to supporting Department of Defense (DoD) programs.

We asked Nick what aspects of his job he finds most fulfilling.

“One thing I love about working in the defense industry is its connection to the mission. I am proud to tell people about my career and how I am supporting the Warfighter directly. It’s a good feeling,” says Nick Coucoules

CAE’s Defense & Security business unit is the world's leading pure-play, platform-independent, training and simulation business, providing solutions across multi-domain operations – air, land, maritime, space and cyber. As a technology company, we digitalize the physical world, deploying software-based simulation training and critical operations support solutions.  We are committed to being our customer’s partner of choice to help elevate safety, efficiency and readiness so that our customers can achieve their best performance.

At CAE, we are one global, passionate and interconnected team working together to achieve success. Our culture offers our employees a chance to enhance their skills and advance their careers through innovation, continued education, training and mentorship.

“CAE has been the greatest supporter of my career. I’ve been fortunate enough to gather a ton of experience at CAE from management, leadership, corporate business, finance, and a customer relations perspective. I’ve been able to gather valuable information from all these areas.” says Nick   

Asking Nick about a memorable accomplishment during his time with CAE, he shared with us, “When CAE acquired L3 Harris Military Training in 2021, I was assigned as one of the stream leads, working together with the team to integrate and support the different functions and ensuring everything was aligned, I was happy and felt a great deal of accomplishment.,” says Nick

Effective leadership cultivates a positive culture, empowers individuals to reach their full potential, and contributes to the success and well-being of their group as a whole. 

For Nick, working with his team to hire co-op/internships and full-time employees means placing a great deal of significance on their career development and the mentorship they need to set them up for success. “We always ensure they understand the mission and they are aligned with clear objectives,” says Nick.

Dylan Istre , a Financial Analyst in Tampa, FL recently spoke about his experience entering CAE, first as a Co-Op while studying at West Virginia University (WVU) and then being hired full-time.  For Dylan, Nick provided a memorable moment that stood out and gave him a great sense of accomplishment. 

We closed our discussion with Nick by asking him what advice he would give to graduating students as they begin their job search.

“Having any experience is better than none. You need to show the desire to grow and hold your career. The fact that you are motivated to work is crucial,” says Nick

Are you looking to kickstart your career? We look forward to welcoming you to CAE, where with a focused mindset and eagerness to learn and prosper you can empower your future and transform your ideas into impactful solutions.

Discover CAE's job opportunities: Contact Myesha Smith , Talent Acquisition Specialist, Tampa, FL or search for your dream job here!