Dr David Newman AM
MB, BS, DAvMed, MBA, PhD, Hon FRAeS, FAsMA, FACAsM, FAICD, FRSM
Flight Medicine Systems’ Founder and Managing Director, Dr David Newman, is no ordinary medical specialist. Dr Newman’s combined academic, scientific, aviation and military experience affords him a uniquely panoramic perspective on the problems of human performance in the flight environment. He has received numerous national and international awards for his contributions to aviation medicine. Most notably, in 2020 he received the world’s highest distinction for aerospace achievement from the Royal Aeronautical Society in the UK, awarded for only the most outstanding contributions to the aerospace profession. In 2021 he became the first Australian to receive the Louis H. Bauer Founder’s Award, the highest honour awarded by the Aerospace Medical Association, given for the most significant contribution in aerospace medicine. In the 2023 King’s Birthday Honours List, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to aerospace medicine.
He is a graduate of a diverse range of institutions, such as Monash University School of Medicine (MB,BS), the Royal College of Physicians of London (DAvMed), the RAAF Institute of Aviation Medicine, the RAN School of Underwater Medicine, the RAF School of Aviation Medicine, the USAF School of Aerospace Medicine, the University of Newcastle (PhD), the Australian Institute of Company Directors (Diploma), and Deakin University (MBA).
His 13 years as a military officer and aviation medicine specialist in the Royal Australian Air Force, in both Australia and on exchange in the UK, include three years in support of tactical fighter operations and two years as Chief Instructor at the RAAF Institute of Aviation Medicine, where he was responsible for the training of all Australian Defence Force aircrew and medical officers. He also participated as the Australian representative for several international working parties of the 5-nation Air Standardization Coordination Committee.
He is a Visiting Professor of Aerospace Medicine at King’s College London, in the Centre for Human and Applied Physiological Sciences. In addition, he is a consultant in aviation medicine to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia. Dr Newman has acted as a consultant adviser for 26 multi-modal transport safety investigations for a range of international investigative agencies. These include 14 aircraft accidents in 4 countries, ranging from light aircraft to commercial jet airliners. He is also a qualified USAF Flight Surgeon, and a pilot with flying experience in a range of civilian and military aircraft including the F/A-18 Hornet, the Hawk T1, the Macchi MB326H and the Harrier.
Author of more than 100 scientific papers, books, book chapters and technical reports, Dr Newman is the current Editor-in-Chief of the international peer-reviewed journal Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance. He is also a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of the Australasian Society of Aerospace Medicine, and is a reviewer for a number of scientific journals, including Aerospace Medicine and Human Performance, Anaesthesiology, Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology, Autonomic Neuroscience, and Occupational and Environmental Medicine.
A member of numerous academic, scientific and professional associations, he has accepted multiple invitations to lecture and give presentations in aviation medicine and physiology at a variety of national and international conferences. He was the Chairman of the 2001 International Acceleration Research Workshop, which was held in Reno, Nevada, and the 2008 International Acceleration Research Workshop, held in Boston. He was also the Chair of the Scientific Program Committee for the 2002 International Congress of Aviation & Space Medicine.
An experienced company director, he sits on the boards of several private companies. This includes being chairman of Insight Acumen (a private Australian professional services company engaged in decision support, operations analysis, modelling and simulation) and a director of the Crazysocks4docs charitable foundation.
Dr Peter Acton
MA, MBA, PhD, FAICD
Flight Medicine Systems’ Chairman, Dr Peter Acton, has over 40 years experience in strategic management consulting including five years as head of the Melbourne office of The Boston Consulting Group (BCG). He was a Vice President of BCG and its predecessor firm in Australia from 1986 – 1999. Currently he is a strategic consultant to various clients in the commercial and educational sectors, an investment adviser, and a director on several boards and committees. Peter’s experience encompasses high-level strategy development across a wide range of industries. He holds qualifications from Oxford University (MA) and Stanford University (MBA), where he was a Harkness Fellow of the Commonwealth Fund of New York and an Arjay Miller Scholar (top 10% of class). He also holds a PhD in economic history from the University of Melbourne. Peter is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
His past executive appointments include Managing Partner of the Boston Consulting Group in Melbourne (1994-99), Partner of Pappas Carter Evans Koop/BCG (1986-99). He has also been a director of several organisations, including Byron Holdings (1987-96), Cigweld Limited (1989-96), Export Culture Task Force (Chairman, 1993-97) and has been a member of the Research Advisory Committee of the Peter McCallum Cancer Institute since 2002. Peter’s recently published “Poiesis” is a study of manufacturing in classical Athens. Published by Oxford University Press, this remarkable work of economic history is available through the publisher or any online bookseller.