Sam was born in Bristol, England and spent his early youth in Kenya, East Africa. His interest in aviation developed early and from 1973 – 1980 Sam was involved with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets where he achieved his private pilot’s license at the age of 17.

In 1984 Sam graduated from Wilfred Laurier University in Waterloo, Ontario with honors and went to work with the Department of External Affairs. His duties involved planning, organizing and coordinating Canada’s major Summits including, Expo 86, Commonwealth Heads of Government and the Economic G-7 Summits.

In 1988 he commenced his airport career at Vancouver International Airport where he held several positions including Airport Duty Manager and Superintendent of Ground Transportation. In 1992 he assumed the position of Superintendent Airport Operations at Kelowna International Airport and has held numerous positions, including Assistant General Manager jobs for both Airport Operations and Airport Development while achieving his International Accredited Airport Executive designation in 1997.

In July 2008 Sam was appointed the Airport Director for the Kelowna International Airport – one of the top ten airports in Canada serving just over 2 million passengers in 2019.  As Airport Director, Sam currently is a board member of Tourism Kelowna and the International Association of Airport Executives.