How does a navigator with the Canadian Coast Guard plot a course from the cold waters of the Atlantic all the way to the sidewalks of Manhattan and a career with the United Nations?

Manon Richard, CITT, is one logistics professional whose career path has definitely taken some rather unique turns.

After obtaining her Bachelor’s Degree in 1991, Manon started working on Canadian Coast Guard Ships. She was involved in a search and rescue mission 180 miles off the coast of Nova Scotia in 20 metre waves during the “Storm of the Century” in 1993 searching for a missing gypsum ship.

She then headed overseas to a career with the International Red Cross in 1994. In 2000, she returned to Canada where she earned her CITT designation.  Manon then accepted a position with a Canadian third-party logistics service provider. In light of her unabated interest in overseas operations, she accepted a mission with the United Nations in 2004.

Manon is currently a Supply Officer at the United Nations Secretariat in New York City.  Her responsibilities include providing support to over 20 peacekeeping missions through the management of more than 90 contracts for fuel and related services with a multi-year budget of approximately $1.5 billion.

With the UN, Manon continued to progress and would experience some of her most memorable career achievements to date.

For the United Nations World Food Program in Sudan in 2004-05, Manon was the assistant fleet manager responsible for initiating a fleet of 120 trucks. This $27 million project included the hiring of 40 local and international staff members, establishing an administrative headquarters in the capital, three workshops in Darfur as well as managing third-party contractor services.

She accepted her next opportunity in the Democratic Republic of Congo from 2005-06 with the United Nations Development Program as the Warehouse Manager for the organization of the elections in Congo. This high demand operation increased her responsibilities to $125 million of material received, stored, assembled and distributed, as well as overseeing 30 local / international employees and approximately 300 casual laborers. 

According to Manon, the CITT Program of Study “widened” her knowledge base.  In particular, the Distribution course scenarios gave her the confidence in the application of logistics principles in operations planning.

“The CITT program was very complete and I was able to acquire principles which were intrinsic to successful results and achievements in any given operation. My affiliation with the CITT has opened up many doors for me,” said Manon.

Manon feels strongly her CITT accreditation, combined with her Bachelor’s degree, qualifies her for many professional management positions within the UN. In fact, her CITT designation has played a large part in helping Manon obtain employment with three different UN bodies and two private sector companies in the past.

Manon was drawn to supply management because she felt it would provide her with the chance to respond to diversified daily challenges in constantly evolving environments. Her work with the United Nations definitely provides her with more than her share of opportunities in this respect.

In the face of many challenging situations both locally and internationally, Manon’s logistics “super power” definitely has come in handy. Her knack for being able to either start, turn-around or manage an operational or administrative challenge allowed her to thrive as each successive logistics assignment became more difficult. Her diverse skill set and flexibility evolved through a mix of job experiences in the public and private sector, as well as through international humanitarian and UN roles.  

In her leisure time, Manon heads back to the open water for some Dragon Boat racing. She also enjoys working out, movies, reading and of course, travel.

And what are people who meet Manon always surprised to know?

“People normally do not expect a slip of a person like me to have succeeded in such unusual career challenges,” said Manon. “Appearances can certainly be a little deceiving.”

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