General Ray Henault, CMM, MSC, CD, LLD, BA is a forty-year veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces. His military career began in 1968 as a fighter pilot. He also completed multiple tours as an instructor and helicopter pilot.

General Henault's career has included a wide variety of command and staff positions including Commander of 444 Tac Hel Squadron in Germany, Base Commander CFB Portage la Prairie, Commander of 10 Tactical Air Group, Chief of Staff Operations at Air Command Headquarters in Winnipeg, Deputy Chief of the Air Staff and Deputy Chief of the Defence Staff.

In June 2001, he was appointed Chief of the Defence Staff and was in command of the Canadian Forces on 9/11. He subsequently guided and managed the CF response to the terrorist attacks for nearly four years. In 2004, he was elected by his peers as Chairman of the NATO Military Committee (CMC) in Brussels, Belgium, a position he assumed from June 2005 until his retirement from the Canadian Forces in 2008. In that capacity, he represented all NATO Chiefs of Defence at NATO HQ in Brussels; acted as the Senior Military Advisor to the North Atlantic Council; and, held the highest military position in the North Atlantic Alliance.

General Ray Henault is also a graduate of Canada's National Defence College and the École supérieure de guerre aérienne (ESGA) in Paris, France.

He is also the longest-serving 4-star General in Canadian history and retired from the Canadian Forces in August 2008. General Henault is now the Chief Strategic Advisor and Chair of the Advisory Council for the ADGA Group in Ottawa, ON.

In addition, he is a member of the Advisory Council of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute and the Commisionaires; the Patron of the Hubbell Awards Foundation in Winnipeg, MB.

He is also the Past President of the Canadian Defence Association (CDA) Institute in Ottawa. General Henault has more than 5000 hours of military and civilian flying time and remains active as a pilot.