March 2, 2023
From leading the engineering team on one of the world’s most complex ships to performing perfect welds on submarine hulls, meet our two emerging leaders.
Seaspan is proud to announce that two women from Seaspan Shipyards have been nominated as part of the 2023 Women in Defence & Security (WiDS) emerging leaders. Every year, the WiDS campaign celebrates and recognizes women who demonstrate leadership and bring value to Canada’s Defence and Security community.
This year’s nominees from Seaspan, Brittany Marier-Baumann and Kasia Robinson, were among the women celebrated at the awards breakfast on March 2, 2023.
A welding chargehand at Victoria Shipyards, Brittany is responsible for leading a team of welders. She started out on the submarine maintenance program in 2017 as an apprentice and that’s where she honed both her welding and leadership skills. Welding a submarine hull requires a high level of precision, as the envelope separates the outside and inside pressure, keeping occupants alive. If there is even one gas bubble the size of a pen head, you need to start over. A high level of perfection and precision is what set Brittany apart, even as an apprentice.
“Brittany is one of the best welders. It’s very difficult to do clean welds on submarine hulls. That’s a tactile skill but I’m also talking about leadership – Brittany is a chargehand, she’s a leader of a group that does it. That’s why I nominated her. All those reasons and then some,” said Steve Baker, Senior Director of Operations at Victoria Shipyards.
Brittany inspires her team to follow her personal mission, which is to never walk away from a job unless you are proud of it.
Kasia is a Director of Engineering and leads a multidisciplinary engineering team responsible for the design of the Polar Icebreaker. A demonstrated leader, she brings with her 20 years of Naval architecture and structural engineering experience.
Since joining the National Shipbuilding Strategy Program in 2015, Kasia has taken on increasingly senior roles – starting as the manager of Naval Architecture and Structures, then Platform Integration Manager, followed by Director of Engineering, where she has oversight over major subcontractors and is responsible for quality and performance.
“Kasia leads a multidisciplinary engineering team which is responsible for the Polar Icebreaker – one of the most complex ships in the world,” said Russell Davison, Vice President, Coast Guard Programs at Seaspan Shipyards. Russell is one of three executives from Seaspan who nominated Kasia as an emerging leader, recognizing her work that is shaping the Polar program.
While highly skilled in the technical aspects, Kasia believes that empathy is one of her greatest strengths as a leader, and that it is the key to instilling trust and finding success and satisfaction in a collaborative working environment.
Congratulations to both Brittany and Kasia, and all this year’s talented WiDs Emerging Leader nominees – they certainly are in good company.