Qantas Gets First Female CEO; Alan Joyce Resigns

Vanessa Hudson becomes the new finance chief for an Australian airline. She takes on the role after helping the airline navigate through the pandemic.

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Alan Joyce, a well-known figure in the aviation world, will resign as CEO of Qantas after leading the company for 15 years. The CFO, Vanessa Hudson, will become the new CEO.

Hudson is the new CEO for the airline. She is the 13th CEO in the airline's history. She is also the first female to lead the airline. She beat 40 other candidates for the job.

The woman has worked for an Australian airline for about 30 years. People call the airline the "flying kangaroo". During her long career there, she has had many different jobs, like planning networks and working in catering. She even managed the airline's operations in the US and New Zealand. Last year she was made the chief financial officer. She and the CEO, Joyce, helped the airline survive the pandemic. Travel and tourism stopped in Australia, and the airline was close to running out of money.

Qantas chair, Richard Goyder said Hudson faced tough times as finance chief. It was a difficult period for the airline. But, this experience made her ready for the top job. Goyder called it a tough role.

The question in Australian corporate circles is now answered. Joyce was supposed to retire in 2020 but stayed on to lead the business during the pandemic.

Joyce is an Irishman who started working for the airline at the beginning of this century. He became the CEO in 2008. Joyce made the airline very profitable but upset the unions. He did this by stopping all the planes from flying and getting rid of thousands of jobs.

Last year, Qantas had a big problem after lockdowns stopped. They let go many ground staff to save money and then had lots of problems with customer service. Travelers were very upset and experienced issues like lost luggage, long delays, and missed connections. They even made a new word, "Joyced," to express how angry they were.

Hudson, aged 53, was appointed in November to reset the company's relationship with customers and workers. The Transport Workers' Union said she faces a tough job, but it's a chance for a reboot.

Hudson held a press conference near Sydney's Kingsford Smith airport. She wants to develop a positive bond with the unions. The company is still bouncing back from the pandemic's challenges.

She mentioned two growth opportunities: investing A$200mn ($133mn) to improve customer service and a project named Project Sunrise, which involves optimizing the fleet.

Qantas shares went down by 2.5% to A$6.57. Anthony Moulder, an analyst from Jefferies, thinks the appointment of a new person is smooth. He explained that this is just a change of leadership, not of the plan.