Hudson to focus on customers after Joyce’s abrupt exit
Vanessa Hudson has vowed to focus on customers as she tries to repair the national carrier’s battered reputation after Alan Joyce abruptly quit as the chief executive of Qantas two months earlier than planned.
Mr Joyce resigned on Monday night after 15 years in the top job amid mounting anger over Qantas’ on-time performance, high airfares and allegations it had sold thousands of tickets on flights that had already been cancelled.
Mr Joyce navigated Qantas through the COVID-19 pandemic, a global financial crisis and major industrial disputes, and the airline posted a $2.47 billion profit in the past year.
The financing of $15 billion in new planes will now be overseen by Ms Hudson, the airline’s chief financial officer who was scheduled to take over in November.
Ms Hudson directly addressed the damage to the airline’s reputation on Tuesday when she told staff in a video message that Qantas needed to “get the balance right” between customers, staff and the business.
“Right now, achieving this balance must first start with our customers and that’s what we will be focused on with our new management team,” she said.
Scrutiny will now fall on the Qantas board, led by Richard Goyder. The Australian Council of Superannuation Investors at the weekend noted it would pay close attention to decisions around bonuses.
On Tuesday, Institutional Shareholder Services head of research Vas Kolesnikoff said the board should withhold issuing Mr Joyce’s bonus shares until the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission concluded its investigation into alleged deceptive and misleading conduct.
“Shareholders are going to cop the fine,” he said. “Alan’s got the company to this stage. He’s accountable for this and the board’s accountable for
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