Jim Bosnjak is a Croatian-Australian businessman who rose to prominence as the chairman of Westbus, Australia's largest privately owned bus operator. Since selling his Westbus stake in 2005, Bosnjak has maintained a high profile as chairman of the Greater Western Sydney Economic Development Board.
Bosnjak, son of the founder of Westbus, frequently clashed with his brother Bob over the company's direction. The company fell on hard times after a controlling stake was acquired by
National Express
National Express Group is a British multinational public transport company headquartered in Birmingham, England. It operates bus, coach, train and tram services in the United Kingdom, Ireland (National Express operates Eurolines in conjunction ...
. In 2005, the company found itself with a $90 million debt and was placed in administration. Later that year, the business was bought from National Express and the Bosnjak family for over $100 million by
ComfortDelGro Cabcharge
ComfortDelGro Australia is a major Australian public transport company. Founded in October 2005 as ComfortDelGro Cabcharge, a joint venture between Singapore-based ComfortDelGro (51%) and Australian Cabcharge (49%), today it is a fully owned su ...
.
In 1994, Bosnjak was awarded The Medal 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 transport and the community.
As the son of Croatian migrants, Bosnjak has maintained close links with his parents former homeland through various investment projects.
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Living people
Recipients of the Medal of the Order of Australia
Australian businesspeople
Australian people of Croatian descent
Croatian businesspeople
Year of birth missing (living people)