Long before Sarah McMillan, RRMC 1995, entered the executive suite at Babcock Canada, she was learning to lead at sea. Her career began at Royal Roads Military College, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Applied Military Psychology. The discipline, curiosity and commitment to service developed there would guide a journey spanning warships, classrooms, military headquarters, an overseas deployment and, ultimately, corporate leadership.
McMillan joined the Royal Canadian Navy as a Maritime Surface Officer (now known as a Naval Warfare Officer) and served aboard Canadian frigates, destroyers and HMCS Preserver. Life at sea demanded composure, teamwork and sound judgment. Yet it was an occupational transfer to the Personnel Selection Branch that brought the two defining strands of her career together: operational experience and a deep interest in how people and organizations perform under pressure.
That new course led to work as Formation Personnel Selection Officer for Maritime Forces Atlantic and as a critical-incident stress counsellor supporting personnel connected with the Swissair Flight 111 recovery operation. It also brought her back to the military college community. From 2001 to 2004, McMillan served as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Military Psychology and Leadership at the Royal Military College of Canada, teaching in both official languages. Along the way, she completed a Master of Science in Industrial/Organizational Psychology at Saint Mary’s University.
As her responsibilities grew, so did the scale of her influence. At National Defence Headquarters, Commander McMillan led the Operational Effectiveness and Leadership team, directing award-winning behavioural-science research in applied military settings. She also contributed to Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Armed Forces strategic staffs, translating evidence about leadership and human behaviour into practical advice for complex organizations.
Her 26 years in uniform also took her to Kabul, Afghanistan, where she mentored senior Afghan Army leaders on strategic human resources. The assignment called for cultural awareness, patience and the confidence to advise at the highest levels. Her contribution earned a Commander’s Commendation and reinforced a lesson that runs throughout her career: effective leadership begins with understanding people.
When McMillan moved from military service into industry, she did not leave those lessons behind. She carried them into Canada’s marine and defence sector, serving as Chief of Staff at Federal Fleet Services in Ottawa before joining Babcock Canada in 2021 as Vice President of Human Resources and Corporate Services. There, she helped shape a strategic corporate-services agenda across the company’s Canadian operations.
In June 2025, another new chapter began when McMillan was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Babcock Canada. Her portfolio now spans procurement and supply chain, health and safety, business solutions, risk, quality, infrastructure, information technology and security, an expansive mandate that draws on the full range of experience she accumulated at sea, in the classroom, at headquarters and abroad.
Seen as a whole, McMillan’s career is not a series of disconnected roles but a continuous story of service. Each stage prepared her for the next: sea duty sharpened her judgment; psychology deepened her understanding of people; teaching clarified her ideas about leadership; research strengthened her reliance on evidence; and senior appointments taught her how to turn strategy into action.
For the CMC alumni community, her journey is a reminder that a military-college education can lead in unexpected and meaningful directions. From naval cadet to warship officer, educator, military leader and chief operating officer, Sarah McMillan has continued to navigate by the same enduring principles: integrity, adaptability, continuous learning and service to others.
