Making the Leap to the Executive Rank: A Conversation

Carl Trottier
Chief Executive Officer, APEX

Carl was appointed Assistant Deputy Minister at Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) in 2016. He has been a proud member of APEX since 2006, when he first entered the executive ranks.

Carl began his career with National Defence in Human Resources with a focus in Labour Relations. He became a successful negotiator at TBS and proceeded to lead the Collective Bargaining program. His journey continued with him leading the Governance, Program and Policy Sector and working on many transformation initiatives. He then went to the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) to implement the new RCMP labour relations regime.

Carl brings a strong leadership background and experience in change management, negotiation, strategic planning, program development, people management, relationship management and stakeholder engagement. Carl is very excited to take on the role of APEX CEO, and to further lead the APEX vision toward an executive community with elevated wellness, elite leaders and extraordinary impacts through partnerships.

Arun Thangaraj
Deputy Minister Champion, National Managers’ Community
Associate Deputy Minister, Transport Canada

Arun Thangaraj brings extensive public service experience to the NMC. Before joining Transport Canada, Arun was Assistant Deputy Minister and Chief Financial Officer at Global Affairs Canada where he was responsible for Information Management and Information Technology (IM/IT). In 2011, he was appointed Deputy Chief Financial Officer at the former Canadian International Development Agency. He also brings experience from his time at the Canadian Transportation Agency from 2002 to 2011. M. Thangaraj is a sessional lecturer in the School of Public Administration at Carleton University where he has taught courses in the management stream for many years. He received the Queen Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013 for his contribution to the federal public service and to his community.

Arun Thangaj is delighted for his new role: “Over the past twenty years, the National Managers Community has made an indelible contribution to the public service. Leveraging the ingenuity and creativity of this community will be critical as Canada and the public service face increasingly complex and daunting challenges. I am very much looking forward to collaborating and connecting with partners from across the system to build on the numerous accomplishments of the Community and to ensure that managers’ voices continue to have influence.”

Michelle Mascoll
Executive Director, Strategic Policy Sector
Public Services and Procurement Canada

Michelle Mascoll is an Executive Director in the Strategic Policy Sector of Public Services and Procurement Canada’s Acquisitions Program. In this capacity, she leads federal policy work around Social, Green, and Accessible procurement.

Since 2006, Michelle has been building her career in Canadian federal procurement and has held increasingly senior positions in the field. Some of her professional achievements include leading key files related to construction around Parliament Hill; working on the Joint Support Ship Project of the Government of Canada’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, as well as leading people management initiatives related to supporting procurement professionals within the Acquisitions Program.

Michelle is committed to diversity and inclusion within the Federal Government, as well as across the federal supplier community.

John Medcof
Lead Faculty
Canada School of Public Service

John Medcof is Lead Faculty at the Canada School of Public Service. In this role he facilitates executive leadership programs and provides strategic advice and direction on executive learning and faculty recruitment. Prior to this role, John was Director General of Transferable Skills at the School.

In addition to his experience in learning design and delivery, John has extensive experience developing policies and programs, and working in a central agency.

Before joining the School, John was the Executive Director of Strategic Policy at the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. He joined the Government of Canada in 2004 after a successful career in business in the private sector.

John is passionate about promoting human-centered leadership at all levels, as well as diversity, equity and inclusion in the public service. He works from Ottawa but is an advocate for distributed teams and regional perspectives.

Career highlights

• Director General, Transferable Skills, Canada School of Public Service
• Executive Director, Strategic Policy, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat
• Departmental Liaison, Office of the President of the Treasury Board

Inez Neville
Chief of Staff
Office of the National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister

Inez has been a federal civil servant for over 15 years, and in January 2022 joined the Office of the National Security and Intelligence Advisor to the Prime Minister as the Chief of Staff. Prior to this role, she held a number of positions of increasing responsibility primarily at the Department of National Defence. While there she worked in a variety of roles within the Finance group, Public Affairs, Infrastructure and Environment, Vice Chief of the Defence Staff, and, most recently, in the office of the Deputy Minister. Over the course of her career, she has worked in several operational roles, including with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canada Border Services Agency, and the Canadian Coast Guard.

Inez studied communications at the University of Ottawa and holds a Master of Public Administration from Queen’s University, School of Policy Studies in Kingston. In 2020, Inez graduated from the National Security Programme, a one-year program at the Canadian Forces College, alongside colleagues in the Canadian Armed Forces and some civil servants hailing from a range of departments.

Taylor Paxton
Director General, Marketing and Electronic Communications
National Defence

Taylor began her career in the federal public service 14 years ago, first at the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (2008), Transport Canada (2010), and Western Economic Diversification Canada (2014), focusing on policy and program-related communications initiatives.

In 2018, Taylor accepted a position at the Privy Council Office (PCO), leading Ministerial Services and supporting the PCO Ministers. During her time at PCO, Taylor managed the communications for the 2018 First Ministers’ Meeting in Montreal, developed the establishment of a Corporate Communications function within the Communications and Consultations secretariat, and directed the support for communications needs of the Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the Privy Council, all while continuing to develop the Ministerial Services function.

Currently, Taylor is the Director General, Marketing and Electronic Communications, at National Defence. She is accountable for various internal and external-facing communications initiatives, including the marketing and advertising for the department, as well as web, social, internal and creative communications.

Taylor is a proud graduate from Laurentian University (B.A. Honours) and Athabasca University (Master of Arts), and a mom to one kid and one dog, whom she raises alongside her husband, Chris.

Martin Sampson
Director General, Negotiations East Branch
Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada

Originally from Quebec City, but raised in the Lac-Saint-Jean region, Martin holds a Bachelor’s degree in History from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi, a certificate in Political Science from Université Laval, and a post-graduate certificate in Regional Studies from the Université du Québec à Chicoutimi. He has been working in the federal public service for over twenty years, starting as a historian with Justice Canada and then moving to Indian and Northern Affairs Canada (now the Department of Crown-Aboriginal Relations and Northern Development), where he has spent the majority of his career. His primary focus has been on reconciliation and recognition of Indigenous rights, through his work in the resolution of litigation and historical grievances, policy development and negotiation of treaty and self-government agreements. He joined the Public Service Executive Group in 2017, where he worked as Senior Director of Operational Policy Development in the Treaties and Aboriginal Governments Sector, and since 2021 he has been the Director General of Negotiations for the East covering negotiations in the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Quebec and the Atlantic Provinces. He is married with two grown children, Alexander and Catherine, and is the proud grandfather of Lukas.

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