Like many other Qantas staff, aviation was in the blood for Mark Thorpe: with his brother a pilot and his sister a flight attendant, dinner time conversations growing up often turned to flying.
But despite the family affiliation and his own interest in aviation, Mark first decided to take a job as an actuarial cadet after school because, well, he liked maths a lot.
Still, the interest in aviation was a constant, and when his brother told him about the Qantas pilot cadet program, Mark decided to make the change.
“It was something that had always been of interest to me, so I thought, what do you have to lose?” he said. “I think it also served me well to have a foundation in another career before going into aviation.”
Indeed, his previous career came in handy when Mark was asked to stand in as an alternate on the Qantas Super Board for the previous Group A Director in 2007. An alternate can be appointed to take a director’s place if they plan to be absent from board or committee meetings for a period of time.
Mark was then elected as the new Group A Director in 2008, representing Qantas Super’s Technical Aircrew members.
Though he had worked regularly with super fund trustees in his role as an actuary, Mark said joining the Board highlighted how quickly the world of super was changing.
“The attention to compliance and good governance had really evolved since I’d last interacted with Trustees,” he explained. “I could quickly see that the Qantas Super Board was run very well, and management was very member-focused.”
Serving on the Investment Committee and as Chair of the Insurance Committee, Mark said the diversity of a Director’s role also highlighted just how much super funds do beyond helping members save for a comfortable retirement.