Olivia Wirth Leaves Qantas Following Chairman’s Decision to Retire

A week after Qantas Chairman Richard Goyder revealed his early retirement plans, Olivia Wirth, a former contender for the role of Qantas CEO and the head of Qantas’ loyalty division, has announced her departure from the airline, set for next year.

Wirth has served as the CEO of Qantas Loyalty, which oversees the airline’s Frequent Flyer program with 15 million members since 2018. Her association with the Qantas Group spans 14 years.

Under Wirth’s leadership, Loyalty expanded its offerings in hotels, holidays, insurance, and financial services, added 3 million members, and achieved record earnings. Her departure from Qantas is scheduled for February 2024. The process to appoint a new CEO for Qantas Loyalty will commence soon.

Wirth was once considered a strong candidate to succeed Alan Joyce as CEO, but the role was ultimately filled by Vanessa Hudson, who was the group’s chief financial officer.

In a statement released on Monday, Wirth expressed her gratitude for the opportunities she’s had at Qantas. Hudson praised Wirth’s contributions to the company, describing her impact as “enormous” and highlighting the significant expansion of the Frequent Flyer program under her leadership. Hudson also noted that there are numerous customer-centric improvements in progress that Wirth will continue working on with her team over the next few months.

This announcement coincides with the retirement of Qantas Chairman Richard Goyder, who plans to step down before the airline’s annual general meeting in late 2024. Non-executive director Michael L’Estrange will also retire at this year’s AGM, with two more members set to depart in February 2024.

Furthermore, Catherine Walsh, the former head of culture at PwC, has been appointed as the Chief People Officer, a newly created role. She will join the company in January and report to Vanessa Hudson. Qantas emphasized that Walsh brings 25 years of experience in human resources and industrial relations, with a recent role on the leadership team responsible for driving cultural change at PwC. Hudson expressed her enthusiasm for building a stronger organizational culture and better relationships with employees as a shared responsibility across management, and she sees Walsh as a valuable addition to this effort.

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