Qantas shareholders urged to boot brand guru Todd Sampson

The company’s shareholders are being advised to vote against the re-election of director Todd Sampson due to the collapse of the ‘airline’s reputation’ under the brand guru’s watch.

Qantas shareholders have been advised to vote against the re-election of director Todd Sampson due to “the collapse in the airline’s reputation and standing” under the watch of the marketing guru.

Proxy advisory firm Ownership Matters issued the recommendation in its report ahead of the Qantas annual shareholder meeting on November 3.

The report noted Mr Sampson was one of the longest serving members of the board, along with Maxine Brenner and Jacqueline Hey — both of whom are due to depart in February.

However, given his background in advertising, marketing and brand management, the report said Mr Sampson had “heightened responsibility” for Qantas’ reputational issues.

“The recommendation against Sampson’s re-election has been made in the interests of board accountability for the collapse in Qantas’ reputation and public standing, especially over the last 12 to 18 months,” said the Ownership Matters’ report.

Fellow director Belinda Hutchinson was also up for re-election at next month’s meeting, but the report recommended shareholders vote in favour of her remaining, “in the interests of board stability”.

The firm was in favour of other resolutions to be put to shareholders, with the exception of the remuneration report.

Ownership Matters said there had not been an appropriate reduction to incentive outcomes for executives given the recent High Court decision finding Qantas acted unlawfully when it outsourced the jobs of nearly 1700 ground handling workers.

It noted short term bonuses had been withheld and reduced by 20 per cent, “in response to the challenges currently facing Qantas” until further information was forthcoming.

“It is not clear what further information the board requires in order to respond to the unanimous High Court decision which has exposed the airline not only to reputational damage but financial penalties and compensation on the basis of economic loss to the former employees in addition to redundancy payments already made,” the report said.

Another proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis also recommended shareholders oppose the Qantas remuneration report because of “significant reputational damage and the share price decline”.

“We believe the remuneration structure was poorly aligned with customer outcomes and other stakeholders, which has contributed to Qantas’ damaged reputation,” said the Glass Lewis report.

Last week, Qantas announced plans for a board renewal, with chairman Richard Goyder to depart in November 2024.

Michael L’Estrange was retiring this year, followed by Ms Hey and Ms Brenner in a few months.