Qantas CEO battle looms as Alan Joyce hires former Air NZ exec Cam Wallace to run international ops

The fight to replace long-serving Qantas boss Alan Joyce has taken a twist, with a new international CEO coming on board.

Qantas has confirmed the appointment of former Air New Zealand customer and chief com­mercial officer Cam Wallace as chief executive of its international airline, setting up a three-way competition for Alan Joyce’s role when he leaves at the end of 2023.

Mr Wallace enjoyed a storied career at Air New Zealand before resigning in 2020 during the pandemic crisis to take up a role as CEO of MediaWorks.

His resignation from MediaWorks was announced on Monday morning, with The Australian exclusively reporting he was joining Qantas.

Qantas confirmed Mr Wallace’s appointment as its international and freight boss, effective July 1.

The airline also announced the retirement of current Qantas international and domestic chief executive Andrew David in September, with his portfolio to be split in two beforehand.

Mr David was given responsibility for international during the pandemic, when flying was reduced to government-funded repatriation flights.

Qantas said that because international services were now increasing, it “made sense” to again have separate CEOs for the domestic and international businesses.

Cam Wallace has been appointed chief executive of Qantas' international airline.

The appointment of Mr Wallace is expected to see him join Loyalty CEO Olivia Wirth and chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson in the race for Mr Joyce’s role.

Mr Joyce praised Mr Wallace as “one of the best airline executives in the region”.

“He brings over two decades of airline experience including his long career at Air New Zealand, with responsibilities spanning sales, revenue management, market development, alliances and cargo,” said Mr Joyce. “Cam is ­inheriting a very talented team and will add to the depth of experience on our group management committee.”

Mr David had a role in the controversial decision to outsource the jobs of more than 1600 ground workers in late 2020.

The Full Federal Court found the decision was unlawful but Qantas is appealing to the High Court.

In a brief statement, Mr David said the Qantas Group was an “amazing organisation made up of incredibly skilled and passionate people”.

“My family all live in New Zealand and the past few years have obviously been very difficult in that respect, so I’m looking forward to spending a lot more time with them from September,” Mr David said.

In a swirl of lost bags, cancelled flights and $7bn in losses, many have questioned the ­future of the man who has led Qantas for more than 14 years.

Mr Joyce is leaving a bizarre legacy of being loved by the stockmarket for returning the airline to record profits, but hated by many customers because of the company’s recent appalling track record with baggage, on-time departures, turnarounds and cancellations.

Qantas cut the Qantas International CEO role, previously held by Tino La Spina, during the pandemic when international flights virtually ground to a halt.

Chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson. Picture: Damian Shaw/NCA NewsWire

Against a backdrop of record international demand and lack of competition because many airlines locked out during the pandemic are yet to fully return, there is a big need for a top executive to run the international business and improve its performance levels.

Mr Wallace had worked at Air New Zealand for 19 years before his Covid-driven change of career.

His role over there included the airline’s frequent flyer business.  The appointment puts him directly head to head in the race for the Qantas Group job with the woman considered the favourite, Ms Wirth.

Qantas last week announced a record $1.42bn underlying profit for the first half, and its shares are up more than 20 per cent in the past six months as the airline enjoys soaring demand for domestic and international travel.

The group’s ticket prices were up 20 per cent on 2021 levels because of the supply-demand imbalance and high fuel prices, Mr Joyce said at the time of the result.

Skyrocketing ticket prices have led to accusations the airline is fleecing customers after sacking workers during the lockdowns and taking $2bn in taxpayer handouts.

Mr Joyce shrugged off those criticisms and said a frequent flyer survey showed customers were choosing to spend their income on flights rather than other discretionary spending.

The airline CEO had to write to his frequent flyers just last month, and followed up with full page advertisement, to explain a series of highly publicised turnarounds which led to ongoing delays and problems for customers.

Mr Joyce told customers safety was the airline’s first priority, and pilots were trained to exercise an abundance of caution in the event of any problem.

Qantas executive Olivia Wirth. Picture: Damian Shaw/NCA NewsWire

When asked at results briefing about succession planning, the CEO, who has been in the role since November 2008, reiterated that he would be in the top job until at least the end of this year, although it had been rumoured he would announce his replacement by October.

Qantas chairman Richard Goyder said late last year that Mr Joyce would serve as CEO “until at least the end of 2023”.

Some airline insiders who were aware of the upcoming announcement of Mr Wallace have questioned why Mr Joyce would be making such significant senior executive decisions so close to his expected departure.

Apart from the upcoming appointment of Mr Wallace, he has announced major upgrades of first class lounges and new routes, which could be considered legacy decisions.

When Australians started travelling again after international and domestic borders had been closed, Mr Joyce criticised passengers, saying they were partly to blame for the lengthy queues and delays at airports around the country.

The airline, like many global rivals, struggled in the early days to pivot from shutdown to record demand.

Qantas had cut thousands of jobs while most of its flights were grounded, and has been finding it hard to replace thousands of years of airline knowledge.

The upcoming announcement will increase the pressure on Qantas to explain who will replace Mr Joyce.

Mr Joyce made headlines in 2018 when he notched up a $23.9m pay cheque.