After four years at the helm of Virgin Australia, Jayne Hrdlicka has made the surprise announcement to call time on her tenure as CEO of the airline.
Appointed chief executive in 2020, following the acquisition of Virgin Australia by Bain Capital, Hrdlicka oversaw the most turbulent period in the airline’s 20-plus year history during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With phase one of the airline’s transformation now complete, and with a return to profitability in FY23, Hrdlicka says it is the time to transition on from the role.
“I have decided the time is right for me to signal CEO transition for this great airline and ultimately to pass the baton on,” she remarked.
“This is not a decision I have taken lightly, but the last 4 years have been heavy lifting across the organisation during the toughest of times.
“We are in the midst of the next phase of our transformation program and there is a lot to do and an IPO to deliver. The next phase of this journey is another 3-5 years, making now the perfect juncture to begin the process of leadership transition to deliver the next few chapters of what I’m sure will be a significant long-term success story.”
Hrdlicka also expressed her gratitude for the “opportunity to guide the team to this point on its journey, and I very much look forward to seeing the continued success of Virgin Australia”.
“I would like to thank the board, the executive team and all of the 7,500 fantastic people at Virgin Australia,” she added.
“We have exceptional people throughout our great airline who will continue delivering award-winning service to travellers throughout Australia and strong returns to our shareholders.
“I would also like to thank Bain Capital as a major shareholder for their support and trust in me as I’ve led the team over the last four years.”
As part of the second phase of its transformation, Virgin is targeting continued growth and profit to support investment in its customer proposition.
“A lot of heavy lifting”
With the announcement of Hrdlicka’s resignation, Virgin Australia Holdings says it will shortly commence the search for a new CEO.
“Her leadership was fundamental to repositioning the airline back to its roots as a value carrier, returning Virgin Australia to profitability for the first time in 11 years,” Virgin Australia Chairman Ryan Cotton said of Hrdlicka.
“It has laid a strong foundation for continued growth and margin expansion that will underpin Virgin Australia’s competitive position in the Australian market.
“To do this required a lot of heavy lifting and the rebuild of many parts of our organisation. A big part of this was resetting our talent pipeline for the long-term, which serves us very well now.
“These are significant achievements, and we will soon commence looking for a new CEO to continue our transformation journey.”
Clear skies ahead?
In October 2023, Virgin Australia reported a statutory net profit after tax of $129 million for the 2022/23 financial year (FY23), marking its first profit in more than a decade.
The carrier has also been busy buying planes, ordering six more Boeing 787 MAX-8s for its domestic and short-haul international routes – with one new plane to be delivered almost every month in 2024. The carrier also recently unveiled a new deal with Link Airways that will see VA grow its regional footprint by 45 per cent.
Meanwhile, in an Australian airline first, VA launched end-to-end bag-tracking across its entire network as its in-app tool increased to include the carrier’s international routes to Asia, NZ and South Pacific destinations plus added tracking features.
