Qantas Names First Woman CEO as Alan Joyce Leaves

Qantas Airways Limited announced it has already selected a new chief executive officer who will replace Alan Joyce, who is set to retire in November. The flag carrier of Australia promoted Vanessa Hudson to the role, and she will be the company’s very first female CEO.

According to Reuters, the incoming chief joined Qantas 28 years ago, and throughout her career at the company, she held several senior executive roles. She was also once the chief customer officer and senior vice president for the Americas and New Zealand there.

On the other hand, the retiring 56-year-old Joyce held the CEO role at the airline for more than 14 years. He had greatly helped the company to get over the difficulties brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, stiff competition, and unstable prices of fuel.

Richard Goyder, Qantas Airways’ chairman, shared that the appointment of Hudson was the result of a careful selection process. They also organized a system for a smooth transition as Joyce exits and Hudson takes over.

“A lot of thought has gone into this succession and the Board had a number of high-quality candidates to consider, both internally and externally,” the Qantas chairman said in a press release. “Vanessa has a deep understanding of this business after almost three decades in a range of roles both onshore and offshore, across commercial, customer, and finance. She has a huge amount of airline experience and she’s an outstanding leader.”

He added, “A key strength of Qantas is the sheer depth of talent it has, and Vanessa will be supported by a deep bench of executives across the organization as well as by the Board.”

Meanwhile, Qantas Airways said that Hudson will remain in her current role as chief financial officer until she takes over as the company’s 13th CEO. She is set to formally assume the chief position at the upcoming 2023 annual general meeting.

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