Even though her salary will be reduced by 25% compared to Alan Joyce’s, incoming Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson will still earn a substantial sum.
On Tuesday, Qantas announced that its search for a new CEO had ended with the hiring of Hudson, who had competed against over 40 other candidates, including Olivia Wirth, the current CEO of Qantas Loyalty.
Ms. Hudson will be the first woman to lead the airline in its entire 103-year existence.
In November, she will take over as CEO of Qantas, a position that will pay her a starting salary of $1.6 million. While this is a substantial increase from her previous position as CFO, it still pales in comparison to CEO Alan Joyce’s base salary of $2 million.
In late 2008, Mr. Joyce first took on this responsibility.
Mr. Joyce’s pay, as of last December, was roughly $2.9 million, after adjusting for wage inflation.
Qantas has said that Ms. Hudson’s overall compensation, including potential bonuses, will be roughly $5.8 million, notwithstanding the discrepancy in basic pay.
“Not only can we afford the capital expenditure that is coming, but we can also continue to reward our shareholders through the cycle,” Ms. Hudson added.
Our on-time performance and positive customer feedback have helped us regain our Net Promoter Score. We handled all of it, and while we were still in COVID-19, we made the choice to invest in brand new aircraft,” Ms. Hudson added.
Mr. Joyce has chosen to defer his long-term incentives until the conclusion of the current fiscal year, making him eligible for bonuses of up to $15.2 million. He will be eligible for an additional $4.5 million in August, after the board evaluates his performance according to the company’s short-term goals.
