Top honour for corporate captain Leigh Clifford

Leigh Clifford may be best known for chairing Qantas at a turbulent time but it’s his little known side gig as a philanthropist that brings him the most joy.

Former Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford has received the highest honour on the Queen’s Birthday Honours list, a Companion of the Order (AC) for services to aviation, arts and education. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

One of Australia’s most accomplished business people, former Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford, is now one of the most awarded.

Having been recognised with an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 2008, Mr Clifford now joins the ranks of the esteemed few to receive the highest honour, a Companion of the Order (AC) in the Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Despite spending most of his career in mining and engineering including 37 years with Rio Tinto, the honour recognised Mr Clifford’s “eminent services to aviation, the arts and the education sectors, to the community through charitable support and scholarships, and for philanthropic contributions”.

Speaking from his Melbourne office, Mr Clifford said he was very flattered and honoured to receive the AC.

Former Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford. Picture: Aaron Francis/The Australian

“I think it is to some degree a recognition of the support I’ve had from my family, my wife and daughters, and also the colleagues I’ve worked with,” Mr Clifford said.

“I’ve worked with some great people both as colleagues and directors and the teams at both Qantas and Rio Tinto. I’d like to think that they’re pleased this award has been made.”

Although he reflected fondly on the “big business decisions” made in his time as Rio Tinto chief executive, it was his 11 years at Qantas that were most often raised in conversation, particularly at dinner parties.

Among his most notable achievements at the airline were the appointment of Alan Joyce as chief executive, the landmark Emirates partnership and the stunning 2011 grounding to break a damaging deadlock with unions.

Mr Clifford said his only regrets in corporate life were not making some tough decisions more quickly.

“Sometimes you mull over the tough decisions for too long, and when you take the decision and it was the right thing to do, you wish you’d moved earlier,” he said.

“I don’t want to dwell too much on that. The important thing is to give it your best shot.”

After taking the decision to exit Qantas in 2018, Mr Clifford remained close to Mr Joyce and had spoken “once or twice” to his replacement Richard Goyder.

But he was not in the business of playing “Monday morning quarterback” despite retaining a keen interest in the fortunes of both Qantas and Rio Tinto.

“I’ve always taken the philosophy that it’s better to move on when they’re telling you to stay and I’m also a great believer in letting the next generation get on with it,” said Mr Clifford.

“You won’t see me commenting on what Rio ought to do or what Qantas ought to do. If I’ve got any comments I’ll pass them on to the individuals directly.”

Perhaps an even greater source of pride for Mr Clifford than his corporate success, was his involvement in the arts, through the National Gallery of Victoria, and his philanthropic work.

For well over a decade, Mr Clifford had supported students in regional and remote areas in accessing a university education, that they might otherwise not have been able to.

Closing a major business deal was “a thrill” but it was hard to compare with “giving a young person the first step on the ladder of life”, he said.

One that stayed with him was a young man from “very humble circumstances” who was a ­recipient of a Clifford Family Scholarship to Melbourne University and achieved exceptional results.

“He sent me a note of thanks when he graduated,” Mr Clifford said. “All I said was ‘if you’re ever in a position to do something similar I hope you might contemplate it’.”