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Patrick White
President & CEO
GFT/EVAS Air
Patrick White, President and CEO of GFT/EVAS Air is a proud Newfoundlander from Norris Arm. Pat is very well known as a entertaining speaker, a visionary, and passionate entrepreneur with a "Can Do" attitude. He believes you can do anything you set your mind to and he sees opportunity at every corner! With over 48 years as a Commercial Pilot and over 40 years as an entrepreneur in various businesses , his passion for family, this province and business opportunities are simply contagious! He blames his sharp wit and ability to create excitement on the fact he was born number 10 of 11 children and had to speak up to be heard. His formal education, at St. Mike's Catholic School in Grand Falls carried him to Christmas of Grade 11, when he quit school to go to work and pursue his love of flying. At the age of 17 when he met his future wife to be, Florence Hale, he boasted a log book with a single entry, one hour under his belt and a determination so fierce, he convinced her he was going to be a pilot and they formed a lifelong partnership together. He did many odd jobs in pursuit of his Pilot dream and went on to build a successful aviation career flying extensively in Newfoundland and Labrador as well as all across Canada. He spent 28 years as Captain with the Newfoundland Water Bomber Fleet and, together with Florence, built several businesses, in retail, tourism, flight training, airline operations and real estate. After 10 years in the retail grocery business, In 1991 he formed Exploits Valley Air Services Ltd (GFT) with one Cessna 150 aircraft and a dream to teach his son to fly. From that first aircraft, he and Florence have grown GFT and EVAS to become a successful International flight training school and an airline business headquartered in Gander. GFT EVAS has operations throughout Newfoundland and Labrador as well as across the Maritimes. They employ about 250 people they train and employ one of the most culturally diverse group of people anywhere in the Province, with students and staff from Thailand, India, China, South Africa as well as Canada to name a few.
