James Alexander Strong, AO (31 July 19443 March 2013) was an Australian businessman and philanthropist.

Education

Born in Lismore, New South Wales, Strong was educated at

Lismore High School , motto_translation = Let us be judged by our actions. , established = , type = Government-funded co-educational comprehensive secondary day school campus , educational_authority = NSW Department of Education , district = Lismore; Re ...

and Tenterfield High School. At the age of 16, he was selected from 6,000 applicants to undertake officer training at the Royal Military College, Duntroon; however, he dropped out during his fourth year, realising that he was not suited to the military.Priestly, Angela
Business Bosses, no. 9: James Strong
, ''The Power Index'', Private Media, 7 June 2012. He then completed tertiary studies at the

University of Queensland , mottoeng = By means of knowledge and hard work , established = , endowment = A$224.3 million , budget = A$2.1 billion , type = Public research university , chancellor = Peter Varghese , vice_chancellor = Deborah Terry , city = B ...

and the

University of Sydney The University of Sydney (USYD), also known as Sydney University, or informally Sydney Uni, is a public research university located in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in Australia and is one of the country's si ...

. He qualified as a barrister, and was admitted to the

New South Wales Bar Association The New South Wales Bar Association is a professional body of lawyers responsible for the regulation of the legal profession in the state of New South Wales, Australia. The body administers the bar examination in accordance with the Legal Profe ...

in 1976.''Who's Who in Business in Australia'', Crown Content, 2013

Professional and business career

Strong entered the business world as a site manager for the mining company

Nabalco Nabalco, (North Australian Bauxite and Alumina Company) was a mining and extraction company set up in 1964 to exploit bauxite reserves on the Gove Peninsula, Australia. Nabalco was renamed ''Alcan Gove Pty Ltd'' in 2002. Nabalco was formed from ...

in 1981, and in 1983 was an executive director of the Australian Mining Council. From 1986 to 1989, he was CEO of Australian Airlines (formerly TAA)—it was during a round of media interviews for the airline that he first donned the distinctive bow tie he would become known for wearing. In 1991, he became national chairman of partners for the law firm Corrs Chambers Westgarth, and in 1992, managing director of the DB Breweries Group in New Zealand. Strong was chief executive and managing director of

Qantas Qantas Airways Limited ( ) is the flag carrier of Australia and the country's largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations. It is the world's third-oldest airline still in operation, having been founded ...

from 1993 until 2001, during the time of its merger with his former airline, Australian Airlines. He was appointed to the board of Qantas several years after his departure as CEO. He also held senior roles with several other Australian companies, including: Woolworths Limited, Rip Curl, IAG and

Kathmandu , pushpin_map = Nepal Bagmati Province#Nepal#Asia , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 = Province , subdivision_name1 = Bagmati Prov ...

. From 2006 to 2012, Strong was chairman of the

Australia Council for the Arts The Australia Council for the Arts, commonly known as the Australia Council, is the country's official arts council, serving as an arts funding and advisory body for the Government of Australia. The council was announced in 1967 as the Austra ...

. He also served as chairman of several other arts organisations, including the

Sydney Theatre Company Sydney Theatre Company (STC) is an Australian theatre company based in Sydney, New South Wales. The company performs in The Wharf Theatre at Dawes Point in The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Roslyn Packer Theatre (formerly Sydney Thea ...

, the Australian Brandenburg Orchestra, the Australia Business Arts Foundation and the

State Library of Victoria State Library Victoria (SLV) is the state library of Victoria, Australia. Located in Melbourne, it was established in 1854 as the Melbourne Public Library, making it Australia's oldest public library and one of the first free libraries in the ...

. As a director of

Opera Australia Opera Australia is the principal opera company in Australia. Based in Sydney, its performance season at the Sydney Opera House accompanied by the Opera Australia Orchestra runs for approximately eight months of the year, with the remainder of ...

, he chaired a 2005 review into orchestra funding.James Strong AO 1944–2013
, Office of Prime Minister and Cabinet, 4 March 2013. Strong was also involved in sports administration: he was a director of

Dorna Sports Dorna Sports, S.L. is the commercial rights' holder for the motorcycling sport of Grand Prix racing. Established in 1988 as an international sports management and marketing company, it is headquartered in Madrid, with branch offices and/or subs ...

, which administers

MotoGP Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...

motorcycle racing; was a member of the

Australian Grand Prix The Australian Grand Prix is an annual motor racing event which is under contract to host Formula One until 2035. One of the oldest surviving motorsport competitions held in Australia, the Grand Prix has moved frequently with 23 different venu ...

Corporation; and at the time of his death was non-executive chairman of V8 Supercars and chairman of the Australian and New Zealand organising committee for the

2015 Cricket World Cup The 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup was the 11th Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was jointly hosted by Aust ...

. In 2001 he was awarded the

Centenary Medal The Centenary Medal is an award which was created by the Australian Government in 2001. It was established to commemorate the centenary of the Federation of Australia and to recognise "people who made a contribution to Australian society or go ...

. He was appointed an Officer of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia, on the advice of the Australian Gove ...

for services to business and commerce, particularly in aviation, insurance and retail fields, and to the arts as an administrator and philanthropist, in the Australia Day Honours in 2006.

Personal

Strong is succeeded by his two sons, Nicholas and Samuel. He died at the Mater Hospital in North Sydney on 3 March 2013, following complications from surgery and pulmonary fibrosis, the latter having been diagnosed some 16 months earlier.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Strong, James 1944 births 2013 deaths Australian barristers Australian chief executives Australian philanthropists Australian sports executives and administrators Officers of the Order of Australia People from Lismore, New South Wales Qantas people Recipients of the Centenary Medal University of Queensland alumni University of Sydney alumni 20th-century philanthropists