New Qantas chair to be headline speaker at Sydney AGS

Thursday, 16 January 2025

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    Restoring trust and public goodwill in Australia’s national airline are the top priorities for 2025, according to new chair John Mullen AM. Mullen is to be a guest speaker at the Australian Governance Summit 2025. Register now to attend the summit, to be held in Sydney on 11 and 12 March. 


    After years of turmoil and controversy, Qantas’ reputation has taken a battering, but Mullen is confident that he and CEO Vanessa Hudson, who was appointed in 2023, can turn things around and improve its standing.

    The former Telstra chair will deliver a keynote address at the Australian Governance Summit in Sydney on 11 and 12 March.

    “I'm feeling very motivated and very excited,” he says. “Whether you're a shareholder or not, Qantas is part of the reputation of Australia around the world, so we have a huge imperative to make sure we don't run it just as a business, but that we also fulfil ambitions in society.

    “Qantas has a lot of goodwill. So that's a great place to start, but it needs consistent and deep focus on reputation. And that is inextricably linked with things like on-time performance and value for money.”

    Stellar line up of speakers

    Other speakers at the summit, to be held at the Sydney International Convention Centre (ICC), include PwC Australia chair John M. Green FAICD, ASIC chair Joe Longo and Deputy Chancellor, University of Melbourne and Coles director Wendy Stops GAICD.

    Featured sessions include geopolitical risk and preparing for volatility, artificial intelligence and the chair-CEO dynamic.

    Other topics to be covered at the event are cyber security governance for boards, driving decarbonisation, navigating workplace relations and the 2025 federal election.

    Mullen, who has replaced former chair Richard Goyder AO FAICD, attended his first Qantas AGM in October 2024 and says that he is working now to restore confidence.

    “I think it’s about getting a balance between acknowledging the past, dealing with the past and being transparent. But at the same time, not dwelling on the past. We have to move forward.”

    The airline made headlines over circumstances around the departure of former CEO Alan Joyce and a series of issues, including a $100 million fine imposed by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).

    In August last year, the Qantas Board released a Governance Review report which noted a lack of board focus on non-financial issues, employees and customers. It also assessed decision-making and governance processes that led to a deterioration of stakeholder trust.

    Qantas now has a different CEO in Vanessa Hudson, who has been at the airline for 30 years. Mullen is effusive in praise for the transformation she is overseeing.

    “She’s very much her own person and comes with a very different culture and approach. She has no ego, which I really love. The worst thing you can have is a big ego.”

    John Mullen, Chair, Brambles, Qantas, TWE00:45

    The full interview with John Mullen will appear in the March issue of Company Director magazine.

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