Randy “G.K.” Cadieux
Co-Founder/VP of Academic Engagement

G.K. journeyed into the field of Human and Organizational Performance through a winding path. Serving a 20-year career in the US Marine Corps, he spent most of his time in aviation related duties. As an aviator G.K. learned that safety and human performance were an integral part of mission effectiveness and operational excellence. It was towards the end of his career while serving as the Director of Safety and Standardization for an aviation training squadron that G.K. was blessed to be accepted into the inaugural class of the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Master of Engineering in Advanced Safety Engineering and Management (ASEM) program. While learning as a student in this program G.K.’s philosophy towards safety and operational performance was refined and matured, helping him to understand the influence engineered systems, technology, and culture have on Human and Organizational Performance. During this learning journey his passion for helping people and organizations improve their performance was ignited. This enlightening moment set G.K. on the path to continue his work in safety and operational performance improvement by educating, training, coaching and mentoring others in the quest towards individual and organizational excellence.

To unlock the true potential of team members we must embark on a journey of learning. This journey takes place through education, training and experiential application of the principles that guide the way we plan and execute work. This journey must involve employees at all levels of the organization, from the line operators, to mid-level managers, to executives. This is how the journey flowed for G.K. as a Marine, and later, as a university educator. Whether flying combat aerial refueling missions in the skies of Iraq, educating students in a Master of Engineering safety curriculum, or coaching clients within commercial industries, the guiding principles that have inspired G.K. to pursue the HOP journey can inspire others towards excellence in their work. When we can inspire others towards a shared vision that values the ideas of individuals, seeks to incorporate diversity of thought in operational planning and execution, and views safety as something we do, not something we have, we can seek to gain their commitment on this journey rather than prescriptive compliance.