In 1967, Evans was appointed as Government Contracts Officer at Ferranti in Manchester and two years later joined British Aircraft Corporation (BAC) at Warton, Lancashire. He was promoted to Commercial Director of what had then become the Warton Division of British Aerospace (BAe) in 1978. Following BAe Aircraft Group managerial changes in January 1983, Evans was appointed Deputy Managing Director for BAe Warton and a member of the Aircraft Group Board. Evans was appointed Chief Executive of the Company in 1990. In June 1992 he was elected for a one-year term as President of the Society of British Aerospace Companies.