James Strong dies
Former Qantas director James Strong dies - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Former Qantas director James Strong dies
Updated 37 minutes ago
MAP: Melbourne 3000
One of Australia's top business figures, former Qantas boss James Strong, has died.
He was chief executive and managing director of Qantas from 1993 until 2001 and a former chairman of the Australia Council for the Arts.
Mr Strong also held senior roles with Woolworths, Rip Curl, IAG and Kathmandu.
He died on Sunday evening in a Melbourne hospital.
Updated 37 minutes ago
MAP: Melbourne 3000
One of Australia's top business figures, former Qantas boss James Strong, has died.
He was chief executive and managing director of Qantas from 1993 until 2001 and a former chairman of the Australia Council for the Arts.
Mr Strong also held senior roles with Woolworths, Rip Curl, IAG and Kathmandu.
He died on Sunday evening in a Melbourne hospital.
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Vale James Strong .Only met him once and seemed decent fellow. Last time I saw him in public he did not look well.
Almost 2/3 of a lifetime ago I used to fly James Strong around out of Gove; usually across the Gulf to Weipa, at night in old ARJ, a 402!
I looked forward to those trips as he was always a pleasure to have a chat with and showed a genuine interest in the operation. It made a nice change from medivacs and some of the other customers I regularly had aboard then.....
15 or 20 years later, when he was chief of Qantas he often came up to the flight deck for a chat. We would have a similar conversation, and often disagree on the direction he was taking the company but, unlike some of those who followed him, he was there and he was listening.
There will be many arguments over his Qantas legacy, but I can say I am honestly saddened to hear of his death.
I looked forward to those trips as he was always a pleasure to have a chat with and showed a genuine interest in the operation. It made a nice change from medivacs and some of the other customers I regularly had aboard then.....
15 or 20 years later, when he was chief of Qantas he often came up to the flight deck for a chat. We would have a similar conversation, and often disagree on the direction he was taking the company but, unlike some of those who followed him, he was there and he was listening.
There will be many arguments over his Qantas legacy, but I can say I am honestly saddened to hear of his death.
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James Strong never gave reason to seriously question his motives, nor his intent. But I have heard several times an apocryphal story of a comment that he was alleged to have made on a flight deck visit: the story goes that on departure he looked down upon the Qantas complex and offered the rhetorical quiz about how many people worked there. The answer was "about half of them"
I always hoped that story was untrue, because he was the CEO, ffs. If he couldn't fix that, who could?
Anyway, I have never heard of any churlish, or childish, behaviour from him. He approached people from a position of mutual respect, and he won the loyalty of almost everyone at QF in his day.
Back in the day he used to be a fixture at the Phillip Island Moto GP races, riding there with his wife on their own bikes. I silently applauded that as evidence that he embraced the idea that sometimes life can (thankfully) be boiled down to mere sensations. I regret not having spent more time in his presence, engaged in passionate discussion.
I expect that his tenure will be marked as the high water mark of Qantas, just before it became infected by the subsequent two generations of looters masquerading as directors and executives.
To the mods: last night I posted a terse comment about exactly whom death should cut down, in the interestes of fairness. Thanks for deleting it.
On edit: fixed artless para.
I always hoped that story was untrue, because he was the CEO, ffs. If he couldn't fix that, who could?
Anyway, I have never heard of any churlish, or childish, behaviour from him. He approached people from a position of mutual respect, and he won the loyalty of almost everyone at QF in his day.
Back in the day he used to be a fixture at the Phillip Island Moto GP races, riding there with his wife on their own bikes. I silently applauded that as evidence that he embraced the idea that sometimes life can (thankfully) be boiled down to mere sensations. I regret not having spent more time in his presence, engaged in passionate discussion.
I expect that his tenure will be marked as the high water mark of Qantas, just before it became infected by the subsequent two generations of looters masquerading as directors and executives.
To the mods: last night I posted a terse comment about exactly whom death should cut down, in the interestes of fairness. Thanks for deleting it.
On edit: fixed artless para.
Last edited by Twin Beech; 3rd Mar 2013 at 22:03.
Death was from complications from surgery.
Former Qantas chief Strong dies
Former Qantas chief Strong dies
The family of the late James Strong, one of Australia’s top business figures and a former boss of Qantas, have paid tribute to a ‘‘beautiful man’’ who will be ‘‘profoundly missed by many’’.
Mr Strong’s family said he passed away peacefully in Sydney yesterday from lung complications following surgery.
‘‘The family appreciates your thoughts at this difficult time and would like to thank the staff at the Mater Hospital for their care,’’ Mr Strong’s wife, Jeanne-Claude, and his sons Nick and Sam said in a statement.
He was chief executive and managing director of Qantas from 1993 until 2001, chairman of Insurance Australia Group between 2001 and 2010, and, as well as holding senior roles with Woolworths, Rip Curl and Kathmandu, a former chairman of the Australia Council for the Arts.
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Mr Strong’s extensive experience saw him appointed chairman of the Australian Institute of Company Directors in November, and remained as a non-executive director of Qantas since 2006.
During his time as chairman of Woolworths for 11 years until November 2012, the supermarket chain’s share price more than tripled in value as annual sales doubled to almost $57 billion.
Mr Strong’s passion for the arts and sport also saw him serve as a director of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and Opera Australia.
In 2006, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services to business, commerce and the arts.
At IAG, Mr Strong developed a reputation for unorthodoxy when, as the chairman of the board of the insurance group, he had his fellow board members sign undated resignation letters. But they were apparently never used.
Australian Formula One driver Mark Webber paid tribute to Mr Strong on Twitter last night, writing that he was "sorry to hear the news that James Strong has passed away".
"He was very special towards my junior racing career. Great guy. Will be missed."
V8 Supercars Championship said in a statement today that their chairman "James leaves an indelible mark on the business world in his lifetime of work across corporate Australia as a humble and esteemed businessman".
Mark Scott, the managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, wrote on Twitter that Mr Strong was a "captain of industry, advocate for the arts, adventurer, gentleman, and wonderful bow-ties".
Read more: Former Qantas chief Strong dies
Mr Strong’s family said he passed away peacefully in Sydney yesterday from lung complications following surgery.
‘‘The family appreciates your thoughts at this difficult time and would like to thank the staff at the Mater Hospital for their care,’’ Mr Strong’s wife, Jeanne-Claude, and his sons Nick and Sam said in a statement.
He was chief executive and managing director of Qantas from 1993 until 2001, chairman of Insurance Australia Group between 2001 and 2010, and, as well as holding senior roles with Woolworths, Rip Curl and Kathmandu, a former chairman of the Australia Council for the Arts.
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Mr Strong’s extensive experience saw him appointed chairman of the Australian Institute of Company Directors in November, and remained as a non-executive director of Qantas since 2006.
During his time as chairman of Woolworths for 11 years until November 2012, the supermarket chain’s share price more than tripled in value as annual sales doubled to almost $57 billion.
Mr Strong’s passion for the arts and sport also saw him serve as a director of the Australian Grand Prix Corporation and Opera Australia.
In 2006, he was made an Officer of the Order of Australia for his services to business, commerce and the arts.
At IAG, Mr Strong developed a reputation for unorthodoxy when, as the chairman of the board of the insurance group, he had his fellow board members sign undated resignation letters. But they were apparently never used.
Australian Formula One driver Mark Webber paid tribute to Mr Strong on Twitter last night, writing that he was "sorry to hear the news that James Strong has passed away".
"He was very special towards my junior racing career. Great guy. Will be missed."
V8 Supercars Championship said in a statement today that their chairman "James leaves an indelible mark on the business world in his lifetime of work across corporate Australia as a humble and esteemed businessman".
Mark Scott, the managing director of the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, wrote on Twitter that Mr Strong was a "captain of industry, advocate for the arts, adventurer, gentleman, and wonderful bow-ties".
Read more: Former Qantas chief Strong dies
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Ben has some anecdotes in his obituary for Strong.
However I wonder what the last line means.
James Strong was a captain of change in airlines | Plane Talking
At one press conference Strong was needled by a reporter pointing out that his former customers were queued up on the footpath from the old low cost carrier demountable terminal to the then Ansett terminal at Sydney Airport to which he retorted “what do you expect us to do, have them arrested”
Strong was an entertaining and insightful and at times uncomfortably rigorous observer of human and corporate behavior. There were moments when he confided very important guiding thoughts and revelations to trusted confidants.
His death does not release us from that trust, yet their force and influence continues.
His death does not release us from that trust, yet their force and influence continues.
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You can't take it with you
The man who mentored Dixon.
The man who came back to feast from the trough as a Director.
Move on, next article.....
The man who came back to feast from the trough as a Director.
Move on, next article.....
Last edited by Cactusjack; 3rd Mar 2013 at 23:19.
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DK. The Grange comes out for Hawke.
One of a half a dozen people that given a little backbone could have changed the course of events.
Then later on, few seem to give him credit for his role as Dixon's mentor.
Without doubt one of the most influential people in Australian aviation since he joined TAA in te mid 80's. None of it good.
SS
One of a half a dozen people that given a little backbone could have changed the course of events.
Then later on, few seem to give him credit for his role as Dixon's mentor.
Without doubt one of the most influential people in Australian aviation since he joined TAA in te mid 80's. None of it good.
SS
Moderator
I knew Strong at TAA. He was intensely private and I am surprised by his wife's qualifications:
Who would have thought that?
Jeanne-Claude Strong has been described as a woman with her head in the clouds and her feet on the ground. A qualified medical practitioner with a post-graduate diploma in applied finance and investment and a Bachelor of Arts in Literature and Philosophy, she is a rational thinker who believes in striking a balance between work and play so that neither gets out of hand.
She established and ran three medical clinics in Melbourne and Sydney, focusing on occupational, sports and preventative medicine and stressing the importance of lifestyle management.
She is a member of the advisory Board of Bluearth, a not for profit organisation which promotes greater physical activity to reduce the incidence of disease and increase well-being.
She is a pilot with a command multi engine instrument rating and has flown her own plane from California to Australia (via Europe, the Middle East and south-east Asia).
She established and ran three medical clinics in Melbourne and Sydney, focusing on occupational, sports and preventative medicine and stressing the importance of lifestyle management.
She is a member of the advisory Board of Bluearth, a not for profit organisation which promotes greater physical activity to reduce the incidence of disease and increase well-being.
She is a pilot with a command multi engine instrument rating and has flown her own plane from California to Australia (via Europe, the Middle East and south-east Asia).
The rot at Qantas started with JBT. He engineered appointment as CEO from the Boardroom, ousting one of the most decent men one could meet. Once CEO, he oversaw privatisation that led to a conga-line of highly paid, short term trough dwellers that paved the way for todays's wreck that is Qantas. He inherited a robust company but left it a mess, just as he's supposed to have left TN.
Rumour had it that a certain light aircraft was maintained and stored at the Jet Base at Mascot.
As for JBT's alleged comment about there being only half the QF payroll was working, there are many who'd be asking "how would he know" as he was never seen wandering the corridors of QCA/B/C in the years that he was CEO!
Obviously, some think the world of JBT but sometimes all is not what it seems.
Rumour had it that a certain light aircraft was maintained and stored at the Jet Base at Mascot.
As for JBT's alleged comment about there being only half the QF payroll was working, there are many who'd be asking "how would he know" as he was never seen wandering the corridors of QCA/B/C in the years that he was CEO!
Obviously, some think the world of JBT but sometimes all is not what it seems.
Last edited by Ken Borough; 4th Mar 2013 at 06:58.
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Having been involved with TN in THOSE days, I am just sitting back, shutting up and notching another chunk out of the Dark Side stick.
Operational crew were a necessary evil, groundhogs were and still are a disposable problem.
I feel a weakening in the Dark Side Luke.
It is a long road without a turning.
EWL
Operational crew were a necessary evil, groundhogs were and still are a disposable problem.
I feel a weakening in the Dark Side Luke.
It is a long road without a turning.
EWL
So, Turbo-tie has gone. Hopefully the main event will be soon.
Last edited by Captain Dart; 4th Mar 2013 at 07:09.
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Wow....bit of a shock....only 68, complications from lungs after surgery? What was the surgery? Never met him, seemed likeable enough, until I understood he was mates with and mentor to GD.....knew of him when the old man was still with TN.......QF IT, still have him listed on their page, which is a bit average.......but IT aren't known to update stuff too quick are they?
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As one of those who didn’t know Mr. Strong well, I know little of his personal characteristics. And thus am unable to comment on the legacy he leaves with his family and friends. Despite that I send sincere best wishes to his family knowing that it is never easy to lose someone close to you personally, whatever their professional background.
Professionally however the situation is different. Mr. Strong sought and built himself a high profile, so those (and there are many) who live with his professional legacy are entitled to evaluate the impact his “high profile” had on the industry.
And it is here where the rose-coloured “don’t speak ill of the dead” glasses need to be taken off, and some hard reality checks applied.
Firstly (and importantly for Qantas today)-there is the enormous and ongoing impact of decisions he either made, presided over, or took part in, to progressively dismantle the critical mass of Qantas by asset sales, route cutbacks, outsourcing, segmenting and progressive introduction of the “divide and conquer” theory of business units and industrial relations. Add to that impact the almost unbelievable decision to turn Qantas’ back on the 777 generation, an era not yet over by a long-shot. Collective impact of all of this? At least a couple of PhD’s worth of effort to estimate that but I think the word “zillions” brings us close.
But the real focus of my mind, as the shadows lengthen for me and my friends, is way further back than his time with Qantas. I don’t want to dwell on this too much. Just to say that there was a time when he had choices about his role in the planning, direction, execution and consequences of the Dispute.
The Road Less Travelled option for Mr Strong was one of conciliation, of principle, of equity, of discussion, compromise and rebuilding. He had that choice available then, despite the intense pressures from the Prime Minister and those behind the Prime Minister. He had the chance to simply say “Enough: thus far and no further”. Yes there would have been pain for him: inner sanctums may have been denied him. Open doors to the inside of the establishment may have slammed shut. For whatever reasons he chose the easier path, the slippery slope so attractive for those who find courage much harder to find than platitudes.
And in taking that path he failed that most basic test of all-he failed to do what was right.
Not what was right for him-he made the right decision there. But what was right for the industry, the future, the employees and indeed the country. He chose a path that involved a significant role, by design or neglect, in the gutting of his own airline and stone by stone the creation of solid rock foundations of divisiveness, ideology, selfishness, intolerance and myopia.
And in doing so, erected signposts toward his time ahead at Qantas, so that the circle did indeed never end.
I do sincerely hope he rests in peace. And that peace will come to his family. But beyond that, I do hope that the structures of toxicity and tragedy he helped (or at very least watched) build will fade, to be replaced by robustness and equity. And if after the chapters of failure have vanished from memory we only remember his good points, then so be it. Everyone deserves to have something worthwhile in their legacy.
Professionally however the situation is different. Mr. Strong sought and built himself a high profile, so those (and there are many) who live with his professional legacy are entitled to evaluate the impact his “high profile” had on the industry.
And it is here where the rose-coloured “don’t speak ill of the dead” glasses need to be taken off, and some hard reality checks applied.
Firstly (and importantly for Qantas today)-there is the enormous and ongoing impact of decisions he either made, presided over, or took part in, to progressively dismantle the critical mass of Qantas by asset sales, route cutbacks, outsourcing, segmenting and progressive introduction of the “divide and conquer” theory of business units and industrial relations. Add to that impact the almost unbelievable decision to turn Qantas’ back on the 777 generation, an era not yet over by a long-shot. Collective impact of all of this? At least a couple of PhD’s worth of effort to estimate that but I think the word “zillions” brings us close.
But the real focus of my mind, as the shadows lengthen for me and my friends, is way further back than his time with Qantas. I don’t want to dwell on this too much. Just to say that there was a time when he had choices about his role in the planning, direction, execution and consequences of the Dispute.
The Road Less Travelled option for Mr Strong was one of conciliation, of principle, of equity, of discussion, compromise and rebuilding. He had that choice available then, despite the intense pressures from the Prime Minister and those behind the Prime Minister. He had the chance to simply say “Enough: thus far and no further”. Yes there would have been pain for him: inner sanctums may have been denied him. Open doors to the inside of the establishment may have slammed shut. For whatever reasons he chose the easier path, the slippery slope so attractive for those who find courage much harder to find than platitudes.
And in taking that path he failed that most basic test of all-he failed to do what was right.
Not what was right for him-he made the right decision there. But what was right for the industry, the future, the employees and indeed the country. He chose a path that involved a significant role, by design or neglect, in the gutting of his own airline and stone by stone the creation of solid rock foundations of divisiveness, ideology, selfishness, intolerance and myopia.
And in doing so, erected signposts toward his time ahead at Qantas, so that the circle did indeed never end.
I do sincerely hope he rests in peace. And that peace will come to his family. But beyond that, I do hope that the structures of toxicity and tragedy he helped (or at very least watched) build will fade, to be replaced by robustness and equity. And if after the chapters of failure have vanished from memory we only remember his good points, then so be it. Everyone deserves to have something worthwhile in their legacy.
Last edited by Algie; 4th Mar 2013 at 20:07.