I had the pleasure of working under James Strong's leadership as a young fella at TAA / Australian Airlines in the 1980's as well as meeting him on two occasions. When he started at TAA he made the effort to travel to every port on the network and meet as many staff as possible from all grades within the company. He promised us we would knock Ansett off their number one position which they had always held, and sure enough we did it. He had an amazing knack to get the support of even the most cynical old blokes. I recall an occasion when we were trumping Ansett in the traffic stakes, an old union leader commented "I quite like the little fella with the bow tie". For me, he had a very positive influence on me at a young age and as I've progressed through the ranks over the years to an executive position I still remember James Strong very fondly.