Qantas to pay new CEO less than Alan Joyce, but more than she currently earns

New Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson will see her pay jump significantly as she steps into the top job and more benefits could flow, but it’ll still be less than her predecessor.

Qantas’ new CEO Vanessa Hudson will score a 50 per cent pay rise when she takes over the top job from Alan Joyce in November, after four years as chief financial officer.

Details of her employment contract were lodged with the ASX on Friday, revealing Ms Hudson would get a base salary of $1.6m.

In Mr Joyce’s first year as CEO in 2009, he received a base salary of $1.7m — which is worth $2.45m today.

Once short and long term bonuses were added in, Ms Hudson stood to earn $5.76m in her first year in the job, providing all targets were met.

In comparison Mr Joyce earned a total of $3.7m in 2009, or just over $5.3m today, putting Ms Hudson in front.

Her promotion to the job of CEO was announced on Tuesday and will become official after

after the Qantas annual general meeting in November.

Shareholders will also be asked to vote on the CEO’s salary package at the AGM. In past years more than 90 per cent of shareholders agreed to Mr Joyce’s remuneration.

It was not unusual in corporate Australia for incoming CEOs to be paid less than the outgoing chief executive’s final salary which typically increases in line with experience and performance.

Among those who have accepted lower packages than their predecessors include Woodside CEO Meg O’Neill, who replaced Peter Coleman, CSL CEO Paul McKenzie who took over from Paul Perreault and Coles CEO Leah Weckert who replaced Steven Cain.

In his 15 years as CEO Alan Joyce’s pay has fluctuated considerably, sinking to $1.98m in 2021 due to the Covid pandemic and skyrocketing to $24m in 2017.

This year Mr Joyce has a target total remuneration of $8.4m but there were estimates he could walk away with more than $20m due to long term bonuses deferred over the past three years, and millions of share rights.

Since the announcement he would step down in November, the Qantas share price has fallen 43c from $6.73 to $6.30, wiping hundreds of millions of dollars from the company’s value.

One of Mr Joyce’s last jobs as CEO will be to deliver the full year results for the Qantas Group with a record profit expected on the back of the first half gain of $1.43bn.

Under Ms Hudson’s contract, she is required to give 6-months notice if she decides to leave the company, and must then observe a 12-month restraint period before starting a new job.

Among the perks of her job, is free airline travel for herself and her “beneficiaries” extending to four long-haul trips, and 12 short-haul trips a year.

The free travel lurk will continue even after she leaves the position for as many years as she serves in the role of CEO.