Qantas Names Vanessa Hudson As First Woman CEO

Qantas said Vanessa Hudson would become chief executive and managing director when Joyce retires in November after 15 years in the top job.

Australian airline Qantas named company veteran Vanessa Hudson as its first woman chief executive on Tuesday, replacing the cost-cutting Irish-Australian Alan Joyce.

Qantas, which returned to profit late last year after taking large losses during the Covid-19 pandemic, said Hudson would become chief executive and managing director when Joyce retires in November after 15 years in the top job.

Hudson, who has been in Qantas' executive ranks for nearly three decades, will remain in her role as chief financial officer until then, the airline group said.

"I have worked for Qantas for 28 years and that excitement of the first day that I felt walking into Qantas, I feel still today," Hudson told a news conference.