About Bill Meeke
Bill is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (FAICD).
He has over 40-years of broad business experience; most of which was spent in senior management positions or at CEO level. Whilst much of his expertise has been gained in the aviation industry, he has also worked in banking, the petroleum industry, the early mainframe computer business, technology and retailing.
The time spent in aviation has universal business relevance because it is an industry with a complex cost structure and numerous critical drivers of success that few companies ever fully master. It is this complexity that generates the high failure rate across the industry and the relatively small number of businesses that are ever able to reflect superior earnings.
Success in aviation requires a thorough understanding of complex cost structures involving fixed and variable costs; where the variable costs are driven by the type of equipment, hours flow, routes travelled and passengers carried. It is a fascination with this complex cost structure that equipped Bill to understand (and sometimes construct) cost structures and business drivers to facilitate successful management of a variety of businesses.
This background and the capacity to manage the complex operational problems presented in the aviation industry enabled him to tackle under-performing companies and restructure them for sustained profitability; even when this has involved the need to re-shape the regulatory framework.
As CEO and co-founder of a number of aviation companies, Bill has developed and managed performance and operational frameworks and has been responsible for setting aircraft performance and operations policies for the businesses.
He has held board and chief executive positions with both public and private entities in the airline and general aviation sectors including as CEO of Skywest Airlines, East-West Airlines, Lloyd Aviation and Trans-West Airlines.
Bill has also held board positions with aviation industry bodies including the Regional Airline Association of Australia (RAAA) and General Aviation Association (GAA) in addition to appointments on several government tourism and transport advisory committees.
Away from aviation and business…
Bill has been racing historic touring cars since 1985 when he started in a Mini Cooper S, and then introduced the 1964 Falcon Rallye Sprint in 1989.
Bill has raced at Wanneroo, the Adelaide Grand Prix circuit, the Clipsal 500 circuit, Philip Island, Sandown, Mallala, Bathurst, Oran Park and Eastern Creek. Wins include six WA State Championships for Pre-65 touring cars, the 2007 AHTCA Cup (National Championship for pre-65 touring cars) and has held lap records at Clipsal 500, Eastern Creek, Oran Park and both circuits at Wanneroo.