Our people and governance
At StarFlight, we recognise that what we do is equally as important as how we do it.
StarFlight Australia and its affiliate, StarFlight Victoria, share a common Board of Directors with unparalleled public and commercial sector experience.
Our management team comprises some of the most qualified people in their field.Our governance promotes openness and transparency within our operations and in our relationships with each other, and our stakeholders.
Board of Directors
Anthony (Tony) Fraser – Chairman
Tony Fraser has over 45 years experience spanning Defence, Industry and Commercial sectors and working with Government.
Reaching the rank of Major General, he had a 34 year Defence career and he commanded at all levels in Army Aviation. Tony accrued over 5500 hours, mostly in helicopters and was the first Army Aviation instructor to achieve an A1 rating. His overseas service included the UK, Middle East, Canada and the US.
Tony was Managing Director for Australasia for Leonardo and then Airbus Australia Pacific before returning to Defence as Deputy Secretary Capability Acquisition and Sustainment in the Department of Defence 2018-2022.
In addition to his military career courses, Tony Fraser is a graduate of the Harvard Business School. He has been recognised as an Officer in the Order of Australia and a Conspicuous Service Cross.
David Fox – Director
David is a Non-Executive Director on both the Linfox Logistics Australia and New Zealand Board and the Linfox International Group Board.
He is Executive Chairman of Linfox Airports Pty Ltd, where he currently oversees airport management and business opportunities.
He is also a Director on the Board of Avalon Airport, Linfox Airports, Armaguard and Linfox’s parent company Fox Group Holdings.
Brett Quarrell – Director
Brett is the Aviation Manager with Linfox, overseeing the company’s international and domestic operations for both rotary and fixed wing aircraft for the past 20 years.
He is a veteran of the aviation industry as a past pilot and President of the Southern Peninsula Rescue Squad.
John Lewis – Director
John is a successful businessman, owner of the Lewis Hotel Group, and a former LifeFlight Jet pilot
After a chance meeting with StarFlight's and LifeFlight's CEO, Ashley van de Velde, and Dean Bordiss, who was Fixed Wing Chief Pilot at the time. By the end of the meeting the commercial division had a new aircraft, John found himself guarantor for the finance to buy the jet he was selling and a new joint venture, Aeromed Qld, was created.
He gained appropriate endorsement to become a First Officer and flew both domestic and international retrieval missions. For many years, he kept his qualifications up to date, undertaking training requirements along with the rest of the fixed wing crew, and was on duty for the 2014 test flight when our first Challenger 604 jet was approved by Queensland Health as a response aircraft during the ebola outbreak.
For John and his family, particularly his wife Deb, there is a deep interest in philanthropy and John is also a Life Member of LifeFlight Australia.
Hon. Jim Elder – Director
The former Deputy Premier of Queensland, Hon. James (Jim) Elder is Chair of LifeFlight Australia Board and Deputy Chairman of LifeFlight Commercial.
He is the former Deputy Premier of Queensland and Minister for a number of senior economic portfolios including State Development and Trade; Transport; Health; and Business, Industry and Regional Development.
Jim has served in key roles at LifeFlight during its expansion over the last 15 years, notably as Chair of LifeFlight Retrieval Medicine, Director of jet company AeroMed and Director of MediFlight, LifeFlight’s joint venture with the Royal Flying Doctors Service.
He has a strong record in commercial business and project development including joint government and private sector initiatives and a published history of attracting high profile businesses to Queensland. He was elected to Parliament in 1989 as Member for Capalaba after establishing a successful Australian building services company and was the inaugural Team Manager of the National Rugby League team Brisbane Broncos with coach Wayne Bennett.
Jim is also Non-Executive Director of Centurion Group of Companies, Chair and Non-Executive Director of Infinite Water, Director of APIED Ltd Australia and Director of British Borneo Petroleum.
Ashley van de Velde OAM – Director/Group CEO
Ashley has devoted his life to LifeFlight’s mission and vision, driven to provide rapid aeromedical retrieval services to as many people as possible. He has been CEO of the company for more than 20 years.
An experienced Queensland Water Police Officer, Ashley joined a fledgling LifeFlight as a volunteer aircrewman in 1981 and never looked back. He has led LifeFlight’s growth and diversification nationally and internationally and is committed to ensuring quality medical care is available to local and remote communities. He measures success by the number of lives LifeFlight has helped over the years, and the opportunities to help growing numbers of people in the future.
As one of Australia’s most experienced CEOs in the complex aeromedical industry, Ashley is a master at developing solutions in challenging situations. He believes in helping build stronger communities in partnership with government and industry for long term sustainability.
Ashley was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia in recognition of his outstanding achievement and service to the community through aeromedical care.
Our governance
StarFlight's commitment to reliability and accountability makes clear that safety is our first priority, and speaks to our business integrity expectations.
