As Chief Operating Officer at Roshel Inc., Maria Tkacheva oversees production, workforce management, and logistics coordination for a rapidly expanding defence manufacturer. She entered the sector without the traditional pathway of military service or engineering training, building credibility through communications and operations — areas often underestimated, but critical to operational success — and helped grow a small Canadian company into a contributor to international security supply chains.
Her professional foundation began in strategic communications and corporate operations, where she managed large-scale international projects and stakeholder coordination. That experience shaped her leadership philosophy: complex missions succeed when people, logistics, and information flow reliably together. She later applied that mindset to industrial operations, overseeing workforce development, compliance systems, and large-scale production planning in an environment where delays can affect real-world safety outcomes.
During a period of unprecedented global demand for protective defence-related equipment, Tkacheva coordinated rapid operational expansion — aligning personnel, suppliers, and manufacturing capacity while maintaining regulatory and quality standards. The experience reinforced her view that defence production is ultimately human-centred work: equipment matters because of the people who depend
on it.
Alongside operational leadership, she has focused heavily on mentorship and professional access. Tkacheva actively supports emerging professionals through Women in Defence and Security (WiDS) and NATO’s Defence Innovation Accelerator (DIANA) network, advising women entering security and manufacturing fields where representation remains limited. She regularly speaks on leadership resilience and inclusive team-building, emphasizing practical competence over stereotype or background.
Her influence extends into professional development initiatives across Canadian manufacturing and defence communities. She has been recognized among Canadian Defence Review’s Top 40 Under 40 in Defence and Plant Magazine’s Top 10 Under 40 lists, distinctions reflecting peer recognition of both performance and sector impact. She also serves as a judge for international business communications awards, reflecting her continued role bridging operational and communications leadership disciplines.
Holding a master’s degree and an Executive MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management, Tkacheva advocates continuous learning as a leadership responsibility. She often encourages younger professionals to enter unfamiliar fields confidently, arguing that industries evolve fastest when new perspectives are allowed to contribute.
Outside her professional work, she is equally committed to modelling sustainable work-life balance in leadership roles, openly integrating family life alongside senior responsibility and encouraging the retention of women in demanding
careers.
Tkacheva’s career reflects a broader shift in modern defence institutions — where operational effectiveness depends not only on uniformed service, but on diverse expertise supporting it. Her contribution lies in making space for new kinds of leaders in traditionally closed environments.
