Craig Lawrence Dobbin, (12 September 1935 – 7 October 2006) was an industrialist and chairman and chief executive officer of

CHC Helicopter CHC Helicopter is a Texas-based helicopter services company. CHC Helicopter maintains its global headquarters in Irving, Texas and operates more than 250 aircraft in 30 countries around the world. CHC's major international operating units are ...

Corporation, a public company traded on the

Toronto Stock Exchange The Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX; ) is a stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the List of stock exchanges, 10th largest exchange in the world and the third largest in North America based on market capitalization. Based in th ...

and the

New York Stock Exchange The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE, nicknamed "The Big Board") is an American stock exchange in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is the List of stock exchanges, largest stock excha ...

. The company, headquartered in

Richmond, BC Richmond is a city in the coastal Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly a suburban city, it occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough, New Westminster, Queensborough), between the two estuarine dis ...

, is the world's largest helicopter company, providing global helicopter services. Dobbin was born in St. John's,

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

and received his early education at

Saint Bonaventure's College St. Bonaventure's College (commonly called St. Bon's) is an independent kindergarten to grade 12 Roman Catholic Church, Catholic School in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. It is located in the St. John's Ecclesiastical District, adj ...

in St. John's. After a period of employment with P. J. Dobbin Lumber and Building Supplies, Dobbin engaged in a short-haul trucking venture and underwater salvage operation until he started real estate speculation in St. John's in 1963. The venture, later known as Omega Investments Ltd., moved operations to

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

and subsequently established offices in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. In the early 1970s, Dobbin returned to Newfoundland, where he established Sealand Helicopters in 1977. In 1988, Dobbin merged Toronto Helicopters, Okanagan Helicopters and Sealand Helicopters into CHC (Canadian Holding Company) and operated as CHC Helicopters and Canadian Helicopters. CHC acquired British International Helicopters in 1994. CHC later divested itself of all domestic helicopter operations in Canada (except a base in Halifax, Nova Scotia). In 1999, CHC Helicopter Corporation, with Dobbin as CEO and chairman, took control of Helikopter Services Group ASA of

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

, making CHC Helicopters the largest provider of global helicopter transportation. Dobbin was Chairman of the Ireland Canada University Foundation located in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

which assists and promotes Canadian Studies in Irish Universities; a member of the Board of Directors of Newfoundland Capital Corporation and was the Honorary

Consul General A consul is an official representative of a government who resides in a foreign country to assist and protect citizens of the consul's country, and to promote and facilitate commercial and diplomatic relations between the two countries. A consu ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

for Newfoundland and Labrador. In June 1990, the Government of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

awarded Dobbin with the Médaille de l'Aéronautique, designed to reward civil or military people who have distinguished themselves in the development of aviation; in October 1990, he received an Honorary

Doctor of Science A Doctor of Science (; most commonly abbreviated DSc or ScD) is a science doctorate awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. Africa Algeria and Morocco In Algeria, Morocco, Libya and Tunisia, all universities accredited by the s ...

Degree from Saint Mary's University; he was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

in 1992. In 1995, he was bestowed with an Honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

Degree from the

National University of Ireland The National University of Ireland (NUI) () is a federal university system of ''constituent universities'' (previously called '' constituent colleges'') and ''recognised colleges'' set up under the Irish Universities Act 1908, and signifi ...

; in 1996, he was appointed the Outstanding Individual Philanthropist for the year from the Canadian Society of Fund-raising Executives, and presented with both Newfoundland's Transportation Person of the Year award and the National Transportation Person of Year Award. In January 2000, he was awarded the honour of "Newfoundland's Businessman of the Millennium" and in May 2000, he received an Honorary

Degree from

Memorial University of Newfoundland Memorial University of Newfoundland, or MUN (), is a Public university, public research university in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, based in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, St. John's, with satellite campuses in Corner Brook ...

. In October 2000, Dobbin was awarded the Atlantic Canada Entrepreneur of the Year, this program, founded by Ernst & Young, celebrates great entrepreneurs and heightens awareness of the economic effect of entrepreneurial ventures. Dobbin died on 7 October 2006, one day after he had taken a leave of absence from his duties at CHC.

See also

Further reading