Whether he’s coaching young basketball players or mentoring fledgling entrepreneurs, Jeff White, co-founder and chief operating officer of New Brunswick’s East Valley Ventures, lives his belief that success depends on building strong teams.

 “A team approach is the central cog of families, organizations or companies,” said the six-foot-six former varsity player, who played for St. Francis Xavier University during the 1980s.

 “Individuals may be skilled and capable, but I believe that people need help. You can’t be a solo artist in the global business arena. Global businesses need people who will contribute toward and focus on the greater good even while the headlines may go to someone else.”

White, originally from St. John’s, N.L., graduated from St. F.X. with a business degree, later becoming a chartered accountant. Each summer, he returns to the university as one of the senior coaches at the school’s popular annual summer basketball camp. He now lives and works in Saint John, N.B.

After two decades spent leading ICT companies through Canadian and U.S. venture capital financings, cross-border IPOs (initial public offerings) and international M&A activities (mergers and acquisitions), White has been part of many successful teams and helped write some headlines.

As the chief financial officer for social media monitoring company, Radian6, White executed its sale to San Francisco tech giant Salesforce.com for $326 million in 2012. It was a sale that garnered a lot of attention.

He has also held the role of chief financial officer with companies such as Deloitte, IMagicTV, Q1 Labs and Genesys Laboratories Canada.

Radian6 was one of his career highlights.

 “It was a fast-growing and dynamic company and most clients didn’t even know it was Atlantic Canadian,” he said. “Its location was irrelevant.”

Working at Genesys, between 1996 and 1999, was the most formative experience of his professional life.

 “It was the first time I was exposed to a global software company. I met people and clients from around the world. I was a finance professional, but I realized I could be exposed to global things without having to leave Atlantic Canada.”

It was while at Genesys that White met legendary New Brunswick businessman Gerry Pond, with whom he co-founded East Valley Ventures and who also acts as chairman.

 “Gerry is one of the most humble and committed individuals I’ve ever met,” White said. “He encourages skills that you didn’t know you had. He keeps broadening the way you think.”

At East Valley Ventures, the focus is on helping entrepreneurs, especially those in the IT sector, develop their companies.

 “We help others build their teams and their careers, so that, hopefully, they can become successful global IT companies. The first few years of building a business is a lonely venture.

 “We do a lot of connecting for these people and that’s very satisfying. We help create cohesive, extraordinary teams, assist with idea iteration and with capitalizing their companies.”

Since becoming the father of three sons, White said he realizes how much he owes to his mother, Gloria, a nurse, and his father, Ron, a sales rep.

 “They were the first generation within their own families to leave Newfoundland’s fishing communities and build a life in St. John’s. They stressed dogged pursuit of education. They drilled humility, being confident, not cocky. Those values are the cornerstone of the work I do every day.”

White credits his own wife, Cathy, with sharing these same values with their children. And he’s still passionate about basketball, which he coaches, along with other minor sports.

 “For me, basketball was the springboard that prepared me for work. Team sports allow kids to realize their capabilities, gain confidence and begin to understand the collective power and importance of being part of a team.

 “If you want to be successful, you need a team of people with differing backgrounds and differing strengths to motivate toward a common goal.”