Recent growth rate: 24,234%

Head Office: St. John's, N.L.
Partners: Paul Lannon, David Rankin, Norm Richard, Lewis Stoyles, and Harold Wareham

With over 100 years of experience in the aviation industry among them, the five partners of Atlantis Aviation cover all the skill sets—everything from starting an airline and navigating the nitty-gritty of federal regulatory requirements to business finance, tourism development, and facilities management. It was the complementary backgrounds and desire to be their own bosses that brought them together and helped propel the company to the top of the 2009 Fastest Growing list. The five-way partnership may be a little out of the ordinary, but this company is proof that it can actually work when everyone is striving toward a common goal. As New Brunswick-based partner Norm Richard says, it’s all about the right fit. “You can teach skill sets to a person with the right attitude,” he says, “but it’s much more difficult, if not impossible, to teach attitude.” Richard spoke with Progress on behalf of his partners about what makes the aviation-consulting-and-sales company soar.

How did the company start?
Paul Lannon and I had been business associates for several years. We respected each other and were interested in pursuing business opportunities together. Two unrelated but complementary projects came up around the same time—a local flying school and a national air carrier—and we realized there was great potential for collaboration between the two. But we needed more skill sets to make it work. We approached Harold Wareham, an aviation-industry expert who was also a past co-owner of Eastern Provincial Airways and a founder of Air Nova, and he agreed to come on board.

As other projects came up—Fredericton Airport, Province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Yarmouth International Airport—we needed to expand the team. Lewis Stoyles came from a financial background, and David Rankin had experience in cargo-sales development through his work with Sunwing Airlines and Condor Airlines.

With the management group in place, we rounded out the organization with a fantastic support staff in the St. John’s headquarters (Deborah O’Connell, Helen O’Brien, and Karen Stevens), and an associate division to widen the company’s range of skills and experience. Pierre Coutu, Jean Marc Trottier, and Rick Fisher are with Aviation Strategies International in Montreal dealing with everything from business planning to privatization of national airlines, and Jock English of Intelisys Aviation Systems in Shediac, N.B., is an expert in airline-management software.

How does the partnership work?
The five of us operate as a team, with equal company-share distribution and decision-making responsibilities. Each partner pursues new business opportunities for the group within our various divisions: airline/airport consultation; general sales and handling services; logistics (www.flyfreshfreight.com); and air charters. Once a new project or initiative is identified, one partner is named the Atlantis Aviation lead, and a team from the partners, administration, and associate teams is formed to develop and manage the project.

Beyond the day-to-day requirements, we have weekly conference calls and annual partners’ meetings. Everyone is kept up to speed on the details of all the company’s initiatives so we can ensure that company and customer expectations are being met and properly managed. 

In the few instances there have been disagreements, we first have a transparent discussion to ensure that all sides are heard, understood, and considered. If we still can’t come to an agreement, the issue is put to a vote and majority rules. Each partner understands that once the decision is made, it’s our responsibility to support it 100%.

What has been the biggest factor contributing to the company’s growth?
Vision and determination. From day one we’ve identified opportunities through sound research and business planning. At the beginning we were constrained to the geographical boundaries of Atlantic Canada but we have since expanded into international markets.

Have any obstacles kept the company from growing even more?
We view the only obstacle as ourselves. We’re conscious that growth must be managed to ensure long-term success and sustainability, and it’s our intention that Atlantis Aviation will be in place for many years to come. We’re satisfied to this point and will continue to grow our existing business operations. And our approach of identifying and developing new opportunities will help bring in new business.

How would you like to improve the company?
By being smarter, tougher, and faster. In normal economic times it’s important to make the right business decisions in an efficient manner. In challenging times it’s critical that the decisions made are the right ones, and they’re done expediently yet include the tough calls.

What’s the next big move?
Each partner believes in and is committed to Atlantic Canada. We live in one of the finest places
in the world and strongly believe the region has products and world-class mentors, past and present, to draw and build upon. There are undoubtedly many next big moves for Atlantic Canadians, and we
expect to be linked into them as the opportunities arise.