David’s aviation career started with commercial flight training in 1983 during which time he joined Viking. David holds various Pilot Certificates and flies a deHavilland Beaver Seaplane on a regular basis. In 2015 David completed the mMBA Program through the McGill University Executive Institute. David is the father of two grown children and a new grandfather of three.

David has been President and CEO of Viking Air Limited since 1991 and in 2016 Longview Aviation Capital (LAC) was established and David was named it’s Executive Chairman. LAC manages a portfolio of long-term investments in the Canadian aerospace industry including Viking Air Limited, Dehavilland Aircraft of Canada, Longview Aviation Asset Management, Longview Aviation Services and Pacific Sky Aviation.

Under David’s leadership, LAC has grown from an aircraft maintenance & repair facility located in Victoria, BC into a pan-Canadian aerospace enterprise with 2020 revenues expected to exceed $1.5B and a workforce exceeding 2000 employees. Longview Aviation Capital is now the largest manufacturer of Commercial Aircraft in Canada.

In 2006, Viking acquired the design and production rights for the world renowned legacy de Havilland aircraft fleet, and in 2007 put the iconic DHC-6 Twin Otter back into production. With a production build rate of one new Series 400 Twin Otter every 18 days and to date nearly 150 new Viking-built Twin Otter aircraft have been exported to over 31 countries worldwide. In 2016, Viking acquired from Bombardier the worldwide design and production rights for the Canadair CL-415 amphibious water bomber program and has transferred the customer support business and production line to facilities in Calgary, Alberta.

In May 2018, Viking (through sister company Longview Aviation Services) announced the conversion program for eleven CL-215 aircraft to CL-415EAF “Enhanced Aerial Firefighters”, which will employ in excess of 200 people in Calgary and 150 in Victoria. This conversion program will form the basis for the future development of a proposed CL-515 multi-role aerial firefighter, which would employ an additional 900 people in order to fulfill a 100 aircraft global demand over the next 20 years.

At the end of 2018, under David’s leadership, Viking received the James C. Floyd Award from the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC) for its exceptional contributions to the Canadian aerospace industry.

In June 2019, Longview Aviation Capital completed the acquisition of the Dash 8 production program and re-established the De Havilland Aircraft of Canada company. In doing so, the entire family of De Havilland Canada aircraft were reunited under one corporate banner for the first time in several decades, marking a major milestone in the Canadian aerospace industry.