About

Colonel Kris Purdy enrolled in the Canadian Armed Forces in 2000, serving as a Military Police Officer with 2 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group and Canadian Forces Base Petawawa before transferring to the Intelligence Branch in 2004. As a junior Intelligence Officer, he performed a variety of intelligence training and staff functions at the Land Force Central Area Headquarters, Canadian Forces School of Military Intelligence and Canadian Special Operations Forces Command. He has held sub-unit command positions within the Canadian Special Operations Forces Command and the Canadian Forces Intelligence Group and was also privileged to serve in the role of Assistant Defence Attaché with the Embassy of Canada to Jordan.

On promotion to Lieutenant Colonel in 2017, he served as the first Director of the Joint Targeting Intelligence Centre within the Canadian Joint Operations Command, and was subsequently appointed as Commanding Officer of Joint Task Force X. Following Unit Command, he became Deputy Director of Joint Integration on the staff of the Chief of Combat Systems Integration. Promoted to his current rank in 2023, Colonel Purdy deployed in the role of Commander of Task Force Democratic Republic of the Congo, Operation CROCODILE. Upon return, he undertook a developmental period of research and teaching at Queen’s University, following which, he was posted to his current position of Deputy Director General for Intelligence Policy and Partnerships.

Colonel Purdy has served internationally in Afghanistan, Jordan and the Democratic Republic of Congo. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Saint Mary’s University, and a Master of Defence Studies from the Royal Military College of Canada. He is a graduate of the Canadian Forces College Joint Command and Staff Program and has completed a defence fellowship with the Centre for International and Defence Policy, Queen’s University. He was invested into the Order of Military Merit in 2018 and has been awarded the Chief of Defence Staff and Vice Chief of Defence Staff Commendations.

Research Interests

Recent Publications

Online

About

Dr. Emilie Gibeau is a faculty member of the Department of Management at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario. Dr. Gibeau holds a Ph.D. and an M.Sc. in administration from HEC Montréal and a B.Com from McGill University. Her research focuses on silos and how to break them, co-leadership, military management, professional development, and healthcare administration. She is currently working on a project on civilian-military co-leadership in collaboration with Chief Professional Conduct and Culture (CPCC) and a project on command teams sponsored by the Canadian Defence Academy (CDA). 

Research Interests

• Command Teams
• Co-Leadership
• Military Management

Recent Publications

• Gibeau, E. and Hussein, M. (2025). Leading In and Around Triads in the Canadian Forces Health Services: Challenges and Enabling Factors. In press at Canadian Military Journal.

• Gibeau, E. (2025). Implementing Co-Leadership in Healthcare Organizations: Expanding and Constricting New Senior Management Roles for Physicians. Journal of Health Organization and Management, 1-17.

• Gibeau, E. (2025). Insight from Extreme Contexts: Co-Leadership’s Stability Paradox. In press at Leadership in Health Services.

• Gibeau, E., & Gril, E. (2025). Les cinq défis de la cogestion. Revue Gestion, 502(2), 78-81.

• Gibeau, É. (2024). From Hierarchical to Matrix Structure: Tensions in Negotiating Shared Leadership Configurations. International Journal of Organization Theory & Behavior, 27(1), 14-34.

Online

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/emilie-gibeau/

About

Naval Cadet Khan N. is a Bachelor of Arts student in Military Strategic Studies at the Royal Military College of Canada. As a future Naval Warfare Officer, Khan is particularly interested in the policy aspects of warship procurement, focusing on how government decisions, defence priorities, and public accountability shape major naval acquisitions.

Research Interests

• Defence Policy and Strategy Studies
• Procurement Governance and Decision-Making
• Industrial and Economic Policy

About

Haiden is a BA student in Political Science at The Royal Military College of Canada, where he will graduate as an Artillery Officer in 2027. Currerntly, he i the vice-president of RMC's Debate and International Affairs Society, where he mentors his peers in public speaking and diplomacy. He is interested in hybrid threats, the state, and African security.

About

Patrick Marsalek is an Undergraduate Student at the Royal Military College of Canada Majoring in History and taking a Minor in English, Culture, and Communication. He is also a Human Resource Administrator at the Princess of Wales' Own Regiment. Patrick is currently researching the Canadian Armed Forces in Afghanistan between 2010-2011. Some of his other interests include Canadian Reserve Readiness as well as Strategic Studies.

About

James is a fourth-year undergraduate student studying Economics at the Royal Military College of Canada. His research interests are defence, security, and healthcare economics in Canada. 

About

JD is a fourth-year Honours History student at the Royal Military College of Canada. He has been recognized for both academic excellence and leadership potential, receiving the Frank R. Kossa ANAVICUS scholarship as the top third-year cadet in these areas. He has also been awarded the Department of History Award for highest academic achievement in his 2nd year. His current thesis research examines the quality of Canadian Infantry Reinforcements during the Second World War. In addition to his thesis research, JD is collaborating with Royal Canadian Air Force officers to support the development of a functional brief on RCAF organizational structures that aims to support future institutional growth during a period of modernization.