Emmanuel Levitte

Emmanuel Levitte leads technology strategy, engineering operations, and product development across CAE’s commercial aviation and defence and security businesses. He oversees a global team of nearly 5,000 engineers and technical specialists, with a remit that spans cybersecurity, technology incubation, and the digital systems and training devices - including full-flight simulators - that support operations in more than 40 countries. His focus is on translating emerging technologies into measurable gains in safety, performance, and customer outcomes.

Across his scope, Emmanuel brings a disciplined, forward-looking perspective. He challenges teams to rethink how complex systems are designed by questioning legacy architectures and long-standing assumptions to unlock step-change improvements. For him, sustained progress depends not only on advancing technology, but on people’s willingness to think differently, collaborate across boundaries, and apply innovation with clear intent - focused on delivering value where it matters most.

Unlocking Innovation Across Industries

Innovation rarely happens in isolation. The most meaningful breakthroughs come from applying ideas from one domain in another—particularly where they create differentiated value for customers and operations.

For nearly eight decades, CAE has strengthened its position as a global leader by advancing simulation and training through the thoughtful application of technology. A defining capability has been identifying developments outside the sector and adapting them to create new value. This mindset remains embedded in how the organization operates - grounded in clear priorities about where CAE can lead and deliver the greatest impact.

One example is the application of innovations from the gaming industry. At first glance, gaming and flight training appear to share little in common. Yet advances in graphics, rendering, and immersive environments have opened new possibilities to enhance realism and improve training effectiveness.

CAE Prodigy, the next-generation visual system, reflects this approach. It represents a significant advancement in synthetic environment generation, delivering higher visual fidelity and responsiveness. Designed to support seamless transitions between live and synthetic environments, it allows aircrews to move naturally between real and simulated scenarios—strengthening preparedness and improving outcomes for customers and operators.

This progress was the result of deliberate choices about how people and perspectives are brought together.

Engineers and game developers were integrated into a shared environment—combining fundamentally different approaches to problem-solving. By enabling ideas to move across disciplines, teams explored unfamiliar technologies without preconceived limitations, while remaining aligned on clear priorities and outcomes. This exchange accelerated innovation in ways that would not have been possible within a single domain.

Equally important were early advocates across the organization who challenged conventional thinking, demonstrated the value of new approaches, and built momentum. Their efforts showed how capabilities from outside industries could enhance training, improve safety, and strengthen mission readiness.

Ultimately, this reinforces a broader truth: technology alone does not drive transformation - people do.

This belief shapes how teams are built, how curiosity is encouraged, and how engineers are given the space to experiment beyond traditional boundaries while remaining accountable for results. At CAE, pushing boundaries is not an end in itself - it is guided by a clear purpose: improving preparedness and safety in critical moments.

Turning AI Into an Innovation Accelerator

Building on this foundation, artificial intelligence is accelerating how CAE develops products and applies its expertise.

Nearly two years ago, the organization began by asking a fundamental question: were its systems ready to support AI at scale? Rather than immediately deploying advanced capabilities, the focus was on strengthening the foundations; modernizing infrastructure, improving data accessibility, and removing barriers to adoption, so investments would deliver meaningful impact.

Technology only creates value when people are willing to challenge assumptions, work differently, and apply it with purpose.

At the same time, clear guardrails were established to ensure AI is used responsibly and ethically. This includes protecting intellectual property, maintaining data integrity, and ensuring appropriate oversight in decision-making.

This groundwork proved critical. AI is not simply another tool; it reshapes workflows, development cycles, and how decisions are made.

Today, AI is embedded across the organization—from individual productivity support to more advanced applications. One of its most powerful capabilities is its ability to access and leverage more than 80 years of accumulated engineering knowledge, institutional expertise, and intellectual property.

By drawing on this depth of knowledge, teams can accelerate prototyping and shorten development cycles. Engineers can test ideas more quickly, evaluate options with greater speed, and make better-informed decisions grounded in decades of experience and aligned with business priorities and customer needs.

While the technology continues to evolve, its impact is already visible. It shows what becomes possible when exceptional people are equipped with the right tools—and trusted to apply them effectively.

Innovation Built on Shared Ownership

As technology capabilities expand, so must the approach to innovation.

At CAE, initiatives succeed when accountability is shared between technology teams and business leaders from the outset. From early incubation, teams work alongside business units to assess opportunities together, ensuring alignment between technical feasibility, business priorities, and expected value.

These discussions begin with a few key questions: Is there genuine customer demand? Can the concept be delivered effectively? Will it create meaningful, long-term value?

Innovation, however, cannot be limited to responding to current needs. It also requires anticipating where technology is heading—and how it can unlock new possibilities before customers fully recognize the need.

This is where incubation plays a critical role. It provides the space to explore emerging technologies not only to meet demand, but to shape it—to identify opportunities to lead, challenge expectations, and create new forms of value, while focusing on where CAE can differentiate and scale.

Trust, transparency, and shared ownership enable teams to navigate uncertainty while staying focused on outcomes. Many of CAE’s most impactful initiatives have emerged from this model - where business and technology evolve together rather than on separate paths.

The Human Side of Transformation

Despite the pace of technological change, transformation ultimately comes down to people.

Organizations with long histories benefit from deep expertise and established ways of working. At the same time, progress often requires reassessing those practices and moving beyond familiar assumptions.

This demands empathy and humility from leaders. There will not always be clear answers and acknowledging that reality creates space for teams to engage, contribute, and take ownership.

Leadership in this environment begins with recognizing uncertainty, but it does not end there. It requires openness, trust, and the ability to adapt as conditions evolve—particularly where progress is no longer linear or predictable.

This reframes leadership: less about directing outcomes, and more about enabling teams to explore, experiment, and move forward together within a clear framework of priorities and accountability.

One consistent principle is that relationships matter as much as expertise. Technology leaders must maintain ongoing dialogue with partners across the organization. Strong communication builds trust, reduces friction, and leads to better decisions.

The pace of technological change will not slow. Turning that change into sustained, practical impact within a large, highly regulated global organization remains a defining responsibility of modern technology leadership.

A Clear Purpose

Ultimately, this work serves a clear and enduring purpose.

CAE exists to make the world safer - advancing safety and mission readiness by preparing people for the moments that matter most. Whether supporting commercial pilots or military personnel, the role is to ensure readiness for the situations they will encounter throughout their careers.

This responsibility guides every investment in research, simulation, and emerging technologies, with a disciplined focus on long-term value for customers, partners, and stakeholders. While tools will continue to evolve, the focus remains constant: helping people perform with confidence, precision, and resilience when it matters most.