First Admiral (Rtd) Xavier Thevadas a/l Gnanapragasam has been in the aviation field since 1978 when he joined the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF). He started his career as an Air Traffic Control Officer and in 2005 at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel he was seconded to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA). He held the position of Director of Defence Support and then as Head of Maritime Districts in Sabah and Terengganu. He retired at the rank of First Admiral in 2015. He joined International Aero Training Academy (IATAC) in 2019 as Senior Ground Instructor and is currently holding the position of Quality Manager.