Qantas chair Richard Goyder heads for the exit, provides opportunity for customer reset

After a tenure marred by recent controversies, Qantas chair Richard Goyder has announced an early exit to help reset the carrier’s flagging reputation.

In the end, an early exit for Richard Goyder was inevitable.

The man who was Alan Joyce’s enabler-in-chief, who had overseen the piling up of crises, and watched on as the airline’s reputation sunk to rock bottom had no choice but to head for the hills.

The news came in the form of a company statement to the ASX on Wednesday morning which revealed the embattled Qantas chair, who has held the role since late 2018, would stand down in the next 12 months and before the airline’s 2024 AGM.

For weeks, Goyder has determinedly held on, resisting calls from customers, shareholders, unions and even the airline’s pilots to stand aside.

Embattled airline Qantas has announced its chair Richard Goyder will resign from his position in the next 12 months. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Until now, he has appeared blissfully ignorant to the manifold issues facing the national carrier and unable to recognise his departure was essential to ensure the company’s reset.

“In terms of decisions made at the time and appropriate governance oversight, I think compared to almost any airline in the world Qantas has done a pretty good job,” Goyder told ABC Radio in September.

“I’d certainly reject the notion that [this] is a rolling crisis.”

In the same interview, Goyder claimed anonymous Qantas shareholders remained “very supportive of the work we’re doing now … and certainly of me. The latest read I’ve got on that is that people want me to continue to do the role.”

“While I retain that confidence, I’ll get to work and do the things we need to do.”

Institutional investors have demanded board renewal at the airline following a series of scandals. Picture: NCA Newswire / Gaye Gerard

That did not assuage the concerns of major institutional investors who have been demanding board renewal in the past month.

Indeed, after meeting with many of them last week, Goyder saw the writing on the wall and agreed to find a new chair.

In the statement, Goyder said the board acknowledged the “significant reputational and customer service issues facing Qantas and recognised that accountability is required to restore trust”.

“I have always sought to act in the best interests of Qantas. Measured and orderly succession at board level will support the important work underway led by Vanessa and her new management team,“ he said.

“Fundamentally, the group is in a very strong position to overcome its current challenges and deliver for all its stakeholders in the years ahead.”

Not only will the new chair be required to reset Qantas’ reputation with customers, they will also need to improve the airline’s standing with government and key regulators. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

But the significance of this task cannot be overstated – helping to rebuild the carrier’s flagging reputation will be a struggle for even the most seasoned ASX board directors after its litany of crises.

Qantas began to nosedive after it revealed a thumping $2.47bn headline profit result while it slashed costs and struggled to offer adequate customer service as airfares soared.

A class-action lawsuit over pandemic-era refunds, an ACCC investigation over selling cancelled fares, the refusal to repay $2.5bn in government subsidies, and the former chief executive Alan Joyce’s exorbitant final $24m pay packet added to Qantas’ woes.

In September, a unanimous High Court ruling found that the airline had illegally sacked some 1700 ground staff during the Covid-19 pandemic. It now faces a mammoth compensation bill, expected to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

Freshly minted Qantas chief executive Vanessa Hudson is currently working to rebuild the national carrier’s flagging reputation. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

The airline also became a target after the federal government denied Qatar Airways‘ application to increase its capacity into eastern Australia, thereby reducing competition in the aviation industry.

Battling fires on all fronts, Qantas desperately requires a chairman capable of re-establishing trust among the travelling public, repairing strained relationships with the Albanese government – burnt by its association with the airline – and regaining the confidence of shareholders who have seen their stocks crash 27 per cent in value since late July.

Attention now turns to finding Goyder’s successor, and the sooner a replacement is found, the better.

Certainly, the announcement of Goyder’s pending departure failed to appease key worker representatives, including the Transport Workers Union (TWU), who have prosecuted the case for a clear out at the top of Qantas.

An early retirement from Goyder failed to assuage union criticism. Picture: NCA NewsWire / David Geraghty

“This announcement is an attempt by Goyder to leave in a dignified manner with another year’s pay in his pocket, after presiding over the largest case of illegal sackings in Australian history,” TWU secretary Kaine said following the statement.

“Joyce did very little right in his tenure at Qantas, but the one thing he did do was take an early exit and Goyder should follow him.”

After a tenure marred by recent controversies, Goyder’s selection of a successor to take the airline forward is also fraught with risks.

Indeed, changes at the top of any company, from chief executive to chairman, will always create uncertainty for investors, and as the maxim goes, investors hate uncertainty.

But rules are made to be broken – the national carrier’s share price jumped more than 2.6 per cent on Wednesday following the announcement.

If the market is anything to go by, customers may well reward Qantas for Goyder’s early exit.

Originally published as Qantas chair Richard Goyder heads for the exit, provides opportunity for customer reset