Qantas’s chief financial officer, Vanessa Hudson, will take over as the airline’s chief executive in November, making her the first woman to run Australia’s national carrier.

Hudson’s promotion was announced on Tuesday morning(2nd of May), putting an end to years of speculation as to who would succeed longtime head Alan Joyce.

“Vanessa has a deep understanding of this business after almost three decades in a range of roles both onshore and offshore, across commercial, customer and finance. She has a huge amount of airline experience and she’s an outstanding leader,”The airline’s chair, Richard Goyder, said.

Vanessa Hudson joined Qantas in 2016 as the Executive Manager of Customer and Marketing. In this role, she was responsible for driving the airline's brand and marketing strategy, as well as improving the customer experience across all touchpoints. She was also instrumental in the development and launch of the airline's new loyalty program, Qantas Frequent Flyer.

In 2019, Vanessa was promoted to Chief Customer Officer, becoming the first woman to hold this position at Qantas. In this role, she lead a team of over 13,000 people, responsible for delivering a world-class customer experience across all aspects of the airline's operations.

Vanessa has also played a key role in leading Qantas' response to the COVID-19 pandemic. She has worked closely with government and health authorities to ensure the safety and well-being of Qantas' customers and employees.

Hudson will continue in her role as chief financial officer of Qantas Group – which also includes budget carrier Jetstar – until the company’s annual general meeting in November, when she will assume her new position.

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