Virgin Australia’s key IPO exec resigns

afr.com:

Virgin Australia’s chief development officer David Marr, the executive tasked with leading the airline’s mooted IPO, has stepped down from the role.

Jayne Hrdlicka. 

Marr’s resignation was announced in an internal note sent by Virgin boss Jayne Hrdlicka on Tuesday afternoon.

“David joined the company as Chief Financial Officer in February 2021 and played a valuable role in the early days of our transformation. In March of 2023, David moved into the newly created role of Chief Development Officer, primarily focused on preparing the company for an eventual IPO,” Hrdlicka said.

“A significant amount of this work is now complete and while we are committed to an IPO as soon as practicable, the timing of an actual listing is dependent on capital markets conditions,” she said in the note.

Marr has previously served as Woolworths Group’s chief operating officer and chief financial officer, during a nine-year stint with the company. He would continue to advise Virgin through the IPO process. Virgin’s chief financial officer, Race Strauss, will take the lead on IPO preparations.

Marr declined to comment when contacted by Street Talk.

The trio – Hrdlicka, Marr and Strauss – led meetings with institutional investors for Virgin’s IPO earlier this year. Virgin’s owner, Bain Capital, has had Goldman Sachs, UBS and Barrenjoey Capital Partners mandated as the lead managers. They are joined by financial adviser Reunion Capital Partners and law firm Gilbert + Tobin on the ticket.

Last week, Virgin said it had delivered its first annual profit in more than a decade. It is now expected to try to tap the market in the first quarter of calendar 2024. Investors have raised concerns about demand for air travel, which has been surprisingly