Breaking New Ground—Stories from Defence Construction Breaking_new_ground | Page 147

Ross Nicholls
1996–2009
Ross Nicholls, DCC’s fourth President, earned a Bachelor
of Science degree from Mount Allison University and a
Bachelor of (Civil) Engineering degree from the Technical
University of Nova Scotia before joining Defence Construction
in 1978. After starting as an Inspector at CFB Shearwater,
Nova Scotia, he managed the CFB Summerside, Prince
Edward Island office before working as a Project Control
Engineer in Head Office and Special Projects Engineer
and then Area Engineer in the Quebec Region. He acted
as a Special Assistant to the President before being named
Ontario Regional Director, Vice-President Operations, and
finally General Manager before being appointed President
and Chief Executive Officer in June 1996.
BREAKING NEW GROUND
DEFENCE CONSTRUCTION CANADA
During his tenure as President, Ross implemented a new
business model entirely dependent on revenue generated
from services billed to clients, and worked to build strong
partnerships with the Canadian Forces and the construction
industry. The scope of DCC services was broadened to areas
such as project management and support to military
operations, and the Corporation experienced a decade of
sustained high activity that resulted in growth to historic
new levels of projects and personnel. After spending his
entire working career with DCC, Ross retired in June 2009.
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