Qantas is on the lookout for a new CEO. But who will it be?

Qantas has hired advisers from leadership advisory firm Russel Reynolds to find a replacement for Qantas CEO Alan Joyce, according the Australian Financial Review.

This news emerged as Joyce announced that the flying kangaroo was looking to replace 8500 of the 9800 jobs the airline cut during the pandemic. In a press conference announcing the update, Joyce said that he planned on staying at the helm of Qantas until at least the end of this year.

“I’ve always said my task is to leave Qantas in a better position, a stronger position, and once that’s done and my very last task is to make sure I have an internal successor,” Joyce added.

The Qantas CEO insisted that his replacement would come from his array of existing Qantas Group counterparts, with the new leader poised to take over the national carrier at a time when the group is looking up.

Alan Joyce

But the real question is, who is good enough to fill Joyce’s shoes?

The front of the race is confined to two internal candidates within the group: CFO Vanessa Hudson and Qantas Loyalty boss Olivia Wirth, who have both worked at the airline for years.

These two were on the selection panel, alongside Joyce, to hire former Air New Zealand customer and chief officer and new Qantas international airline and freight CEO, Cam Wallace. This panel was also used for choosing Stephanie Tully as Jetstar’s new CEO, Stephanie Tully, who is also rumoured as a front runner for top dog position.

Hudson, the numbers wizard of the airline, helped take Qantas from $7 billion of debt to produce a $1.4b profit in the first half of the 2023 financial year. The Australian reported that she’d performed well in terms of the stock market and well spoken of by the finance teams she presides over. She boasts 30 years of experience in the airline, which includes a stint running The Americas.

Vanessa Hudson

Despite Hudson’s quantitative successes with the flying kangaroo, the airline may be looking for someone with experience managing image and brand.

Wirth’s foundations in media, marketing, and customer relations over the past five years makes her more favourable with the customers and her experience with the loyalty business may give her the edge if the Qantas board looks to prioritise winning favour with customers.

But that doesn’t mean she hasn’t produced fiscally for the airline. Her work with the Qantas loyalty business – namely, turning it into a non-volatile money making machine – has seen it produce earnings before interest and tax of $1.5b since she took the wheel in March 2018.

But brand image may still be a challenge regardless of new CEO, Morningstar analyst Angus Hewitt told the AFR.

“More planes on time, fewer cancelled flights, fewer bags lost or damaged, and cheaper fares should have a bigger impact on Qantas’ public image than who the chief executive might be,” Hewitt said.

How about Wallace?

Internal sources confirmed that the newcomer is unlikely to be a front runner, despite his extensive experience in the aviation industry.

Wallace was reportedly quite well-liked during hi 19 years at Air NZ, but his time with the carrier ended during the COVID lockdown of 2020.

Other internal candidates rumoured to snag the top spot had left over the past few years. Most recently of these was Gareth Evans, the former CEO of Jetstar, and Tino La Spina, the airline’s former CFO and international chief.

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alan joyce olivia wirth qantas Vanessa Hudson