Revealed: the Qantas board members who rubber stamped Alan Joyce’s $24 million golden handshake
Behind every cost-cutting, fare-increasing, reputation-trashing decision made by ousted Qantas CEO Alan Joyce stood a silent board of faceless men and women who rubber-stamped his $24m golden ‘parachute’.
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Behind every cost-cutting, fare-increasing, reputation-trashing decision made by ousted Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce stood a silent board of faceless men and women.
The spotlight finally turned on chairman Richard Goyder this week after the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission took the airline to court for misleading and deceptive conduct in selling thousands of tickets to cancelled ghost flights.
The board approved Joyce’s sale of 2.5 million shares in June for $17 million and gave the thumbs up to his salary and bonuses that means he walks away with a $24 million golden handshake.
Mr Joyce brought forward his retirement on Tuesday saying it was “the best thing I can do under these circumstances.”
He hands over to career Qantas hand Vanessa Hudson who was his chief financial officer through the Covid crisis and delivered the cuts he ordered that helped deliver a whopping $2.7 billion profit last week.
Transport Workers Union boss Michael Kaine said that Ms Hudson and the board needed to step up and take Qantas into a new direction.
“Alan Joyce and the Qantas board have resided over a company that has acted as one of the worst corporate bullies in Australia,” Mr Kaine said.
“Under Joyce it was a Qantas dictatorship – bulldozing good, secure jobs through exploiting labour hire loopholes, splintering the workforce, underhanded tactics, sackings, bonus bribes, grounding the fleet, and the list goes on.”
He said Ms Hudson needs “to come out and say that the Alan Joyce era is over and that she is turning over a new leaf.”
The faceless board members backing Alan Joyce’s decisions on Qantas
Chairman. Richard Goyder
Joined the Qantas Board in 2017 and became chairman in 2018. He is also chairman of Woodside Energy and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra. After Joyce quit he told the Australian Financial Review: “It goes against every one of his instincts, as you can imagine. But in my view, he’s always been a courageous CEO, and sometimes you’ve got to do these things.”
Chief Executive Officer (starting Wednesday) Vanessa Hudson
Ms Hudson joined Qantas in 1994 and worked her way up to become chief financial officer under Alan Joyce in 2019. She unveiled her management team in June with new roles in the form of a chief people officer and a chief risk officer. “We have a lot of expansion planned in the years ahead and that will translate into thousands of new frontline jobs and millions of hours of training,” Ms Hudson said.
Maxine Brenner. Board member.
Ms Brenner is a banker who has become a career director, also sitting on the boards of Origin Energy, Telstra and Woolworths. In 1987 she married One.Tel founder Jodee Rich, whose company went broke in 2001 and was the poster child of dot-com failures.
Jacqueline Hey. Board member.
As chair of the Remuneration Committee, Ms Hey, rubber stamped Mr Joyce’s pay rises and bonuses. She is also chair of the Bendigo and Adelaide Bank and was formerly a director of AGL Energy and Cricket Australia.
Belinda Hutchinson. Board member.
Joined the board in 2018. She is a 30 year veteran of the financial services sector. She is chancellor of the University of Sydney where she is acclaimed for “a deep interest in developing a culture of philanthropy” and has a family foundation that supports the starving in Africa.
Michael L’Estrange. Board member.
A former secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade who joined the Qantas board in 2016, He was previously on the board of Rio Tinto during the time it destroyed Juukan Gorge, the only inland site in Australia to show continuous human habitation for 46,000 years. His review of the destruction was dismissed by indigenous leaders as “a whitewash”.
Todd Sampson. Board member.
The Canadian-born marketing expert joined the board of Qantas in 2015. He is a regular on the Gruen TV show and may have insights for the new CEO on recovering from reputational damage.
Antony Tyler. Board member.
Chair of the Safety, Health, Environment and Security Committee. He is one of the few board members with previous airline experience having spent more than 30 years with Cathay Pacific Airways.
Doug Parker. Board member.
The newest recruit to the Qantas board having joined in May 2023. He is also an old airline hand having served as chairman and CEO of US Airways and America West Airlines.
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