Julie Gascon’s journey from an almost-accountant to a master mariner to now Chief Executive Officer of the Pacific Pilotage Authority is a lesson in following your heart, drive, and decisiveness.
How it started
Julie Gascon, Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Pilotage Authority.
Julie Gascon was in her early twenties when she was finishing her business degree in Montréal. With a focus on numbers, her head was set on becoming an accountant, but her heart was leading her somewhere else. Julie says, “I kept on asking myself if this is what I wanted to do with my life.”
In the back of her mind, her desire to become a first responder was getting stronger as she got closer to having to make big career decisions. So instead of spending her days in an office, Julie wanted to have a career that was not only exciting, but also helped others. “I wanted to be the first one that deals with an issue. The first face that comes in to support and to save. And to me, that was the attraction with being a first responder, being the person that people could rely on.”
Around that time, her father saw a news story about a female United States Coast Guard Captain and shared it with her, informing her that there was a Coast Guard base in Quebec and college in Nova Scotia. For Julie, this meant an exciting alternative and a career at sea, where she could be outdoors and help save lives through the Search and Rescue Program.
“I contacted the registrar of the Canadian Coast Guard College, and she told me that I had missed the application deadline by two weeks. But I pleaded with her, I said ‘please, I don’t want to be an accountant when I grow up!’ And she said, ‘okay, send it!’ and I did!” She continues, “Even though at that time I knew nothing about a career on the water, but by my first sea phase, that was it. I was in. I was hooked!”
Drive and decisiveness
Julie spent every phase of her seafaring career planning and working to reach the next goal she set for herself. “One of the things I found was that I had goals at every step. I was always driving towards that next goal.” She adds, “I managed my whole career as if it were a business and there were strategic objectives at each phase. Even if my goals changed, there was always a plan to get to that next stage.” Why was this so important for Julie? “In the marine space, because there are so many different options, having a plan keeps you organized.”
Julie adds that when she graduated, her first strategic objective was to be a master mariner. And that once she sets a goal, she does everything she can to get there. She had also met a wonderful partner at the Canadian Coast Guard College; her husband supported her in reaching her career goals. “Having a strong network, a family that loves and support you, friends that cheer you on, is so important.”
As Julie sailed for the Canadian Coast Guard on the West Coast, she could not acquire the sea time required for the highest level of certification: the Master Mariner. In order to get that, Julie needed to go on the world fleet. “I got training, paid for my own courses, and was able to get on very large crude carriers and cruise ships, and then I came back with all my sea time to be able to get my Master Mariner.” She finally earned her certification in 2005.
Julie had been a Chief Officer for several years on the Pacific Fleet and although captain would have been the next step in Julie’s career, she knew this role wasn’t for her. “You spend a lot of time on the bridge while the ship carries out its operations.” She considered all the transferable skills she had learned and applied to become a senior marine safety inspector in Ottawa. After that, moving into management and then executive positions in the government would be her next goals. “In order to climb the corporate ladder, I needed to better understand how government worked and these were the positions where I could learn these skills”. She adds, “In order to move, you need to be willing to take risks. You need to be willing to try things, apply for positions for which you have not been trained. Sometimes you need to fake it till you make it, basically.” At one point, Julie became the Director of Executive Services for an Assistant Deputy Minister Office—something she states is one of the hardest things she has ever done. “When you are a mariner, you are a technical expert, but when you work in an ADM Office, you have to be a strategic expert. So, I learned that by being in the fire with everybody in that role.”
Eventually Julie would become the Assistant Commissioner, Central and Arctic Region, then Director General, Operations both at the Canadian Coast Guard and finally Director General, Marine Safety and Security at Transport Canada. After this role, Julie moved to Vancouver in October 2022, where she was appointed the Chief Executive Officer for the Pacific Pilotage Authority. In this role, she leads her organization in providing pilotage services on the West Coast of Canada.
Julie’s advice for Seafarers and Seafarers To-Be:
Whatever your goal is for your future in the marine sphere, Julie has advice: “I always treated my career at sea like a journey! Because it is a journey. You’re learning about yourself and other people. If you love other people, you will love that journey.” She adds, “The life of a seafarer is perfect for someone who wants to be connected to everything. Someone who is curious and who loves other people as you spend a lot of time with your colleagues on a ship, And that everything that we’re able to access in our modern lives comes to us from the sea. From food to our bikes to our phones.
For other women considering entering this profession but are worried it may be too male-dominated, Julie has some advice as well. “Entering a marine career sometimes you feel you need to be ‘tougher’ or ‘stronger’ to fit in. You learn very quickly that this is exhausting.”
One piece of advice Julie could give her younger self: “I would say be yourself. You have to be yourself—hardworking—but be yourself and don’t be afraid to be different, because you will be accepted. Seafarers are a welcoming community; it is an amazing community! If you accept them, they will accept you. It’s a community that knows you need to be there to support each other.”