Vice Admiral Paul Maddison (Ret’d) is Director of the UNSW Defence Research Institute. Although located at the UNSW Canberra campus, Paul is responsible for enabling, facilitating and integrating UNSW Australia’s ground-breaking defence research capacity across the whole of the university in both Sydney and Canberra. With a mandate to build deeper relationships and increased collaboration with Commonwealth, State, industry and international partners, the Defence Research Institute aims to strengthen UNSW’s position as Australia’s leading defence university, and to play a defining role in accelerating the delivery of capability for the Australian Defence Force.

Paul is a graduate of Canada’s Royal Military College – St. Jean (1980) and served in the Canadian Armed Forces for 37 years. He commanded at all levels, both at sea and ashore, and retired in 2013 from his appointment as Commander of the Royal Canadian Navy. He is a graduate of the Canadian Forces College Command and Staff Course in Toronto, as well as the Advanced Military Studies Program. Paul’s decorations include: Commander of the Order of Military Merit (Canada), Commander of the Legion of Merit (USA), and Officer of the Legion d’Honneur (France).

After a successful move to the private sector in 2013, with a focus on corporate strategic advice and the provision of innovative commercial solutions in the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance sector, Paul returned to public service in 2015 and served until 2019 as High Commissioner of Canada to Australia. In this role, Paul was tireless in his pursuit of strengthened bilateral relations between Australia and Canada, with a focus on collaboration in the public policy, trade, social and security sectors.

Paul is an (ice) hockey (Toronto) and Aussie Rules (Essendon) fan, who also enjoys running (slowly), swimming, gardening, and reading. He is married to Fay, who hails from Darwin, NT, and who was the strength behind his uniform in Canada for over 25 years. Their two adult children are dual nationals living in Australia and looking for a fair go.