Qantas hire adds new twist to who will replace Alan Joyce as CEO

Qantas has appointed former Air New Zealand executive Cam Wallace to lead its international and freight division, a move which has already led to a fresh set of rumours about the retirement plans of current boss Alan Joyce.

Joyce said last week – while unveiling a $1.4 billion profit for the December half – he intended to remain in charge of the $11.4 billion airline until at least the end of this year, his 14th as chief executive officer.

Joyce was effusive in his praise of Wallace and his tenure at Air New Zealand, where he worked for more than a decade before leaving in 2020 to head up radio business Media Works.

“Cam Wallace is one of the best airline executives in the region. He brings over two decades of airline experience including his long career at Air New Zealand, with responsibilities spanning sales, revenue management, market development, alliances and cargo,” Joyce said.

Current domestic and international chief Andrew David will retire in September after nine years at the business, eight of which were executive roles at Qantas.

“Andrew has contributed a huge amount during his 10 years across both Qantas and Jetstar. His leadership of Qantas’ domestic, international and freight businesses has been pivotal, especially during the incredible challenge of putting the airline into hibernation and bringing it back again,” Joyce said.

Wallace will begin leading the international and freight arm from July, with a recruitment process for the domestic division expected to start soon.

The domestic and international divisions became one when international flying halted during COVID-19. The carrier said on Monday it now made sense to have separate leaders for the two arms now that capacity in both divisions had increased. The airline is targeting 100 per cent of pre-COVID-19 capacity for domestic services by June and for international services by 2024.