Qantas has begun interviewing candidates to replace outgoing chief executive Alan Joyce, with the announcement of a successor possibly coming in late May.
Joyce, who has led Qantas since 2008, expects to vacate his position in the 2023/24 financial year – and interviews for the next CEO took place last week, sources told The Australian Financial Review.
The two frontrunners for the role are current Qantas chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson and Qantas Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth. If either were to succeed Joyce, they would become the first female CEO of the airline.
Hudson has been with the carrier since 1994, becoming chief commercial officer in 2018 before being promoted to CFO, where she managed Qantas’ balance sheet during multi-billion dollar losses through to the airline’s return to profitability.
Wirth joined the flying kangaroo in 2009, steering the chief customer and public affairs divisions before taking the reins of Qantas loyalty, which was the most profitable part of the airline group during the pandemic.
According to AFR, the Qantas board is likely to meet next week or the following week to discuss its plans, with a final decision on Joyce’s replacement expected ahead of an investor strategy day in late-to-mid May.
Two jobs
Qantas investor and White Funds Management managing director Angus Gluskie said the market would want to know “what this next period of time will mean for Qantas”.
“The whole Alan Joyce period does feel a bit long in the tooth,” he said.
“He has done a great job for investors, but he is also the individual blamed by the consumer for contributing to the lessening of service standards.”
Gluskie said the job would come down to who could best balance the two goals.
“It will come down to specific characteristics of individuals, they will want someone who can navigate those dual objectives,” he stated.
Last month, Joyce said he intended to stay in his role until “at least the end of the year”.
In early April, he said he expected to see history made, with the appointment of the first female CEO of Qantas.
“Some airlines say you’ll never see a woman running an airline … One day, we’ll have a woman running Qantas,” he remarked.
QF reported a record Underlying Profit Before Tax (PBT) of $1.43 billion for the first six months of the 2022/23 financial year (1H FY23).
Just days later, it appointed Cameron Wallace as new CEO of Qantas International and Freight.
