The Qantas Airlines Limited (ASX: QAN) share price is in the red after the company announced the retirement of CEO Alan Joyce.
Joyce will step down from the top job at the national carrier in November. His boots will be filled by the airline's current chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson.
Right now, the Qantas share price is falling, trading 2.37% lower at $6.58.
Meanwhile, the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) is falling 0.35%.
Let's take a closer look at the changing of the guard at the flying kangaroo.
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Qantas names next CEO ahead of Joyce's retirement
The Qantas share price is slipping as the airline's thirteenth CEO is named, marking a major milestone in the company's 103-year history.
Hudson will take on the top job in the wake of the company's annual general meeting (AGM), having spent the last 28 years in executive positions across the group.
Qantas chair Richard Goyder said "a lot of thought" went into Hudson's appointment, continuing:
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.
Joyce will have helmed the company for 15 years by the time he steps down. And it hasn't always been smooth sailing. He led Qantas through the Global Financial Crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, and numerous other disruptions.
Commenting on Joyce's achievements, Goyder said:
Much of the credit for the bright future in front of Qantas goes to Alan …
The company was restructured to deal with a number of external shocks and Alan led it to a several record profits. He's overseen a lot of investment in aircraft, lounges, the creation of Jetstar, our cornerstone partnership with Emirates and innovations like the Perth-London route and Project Sunrise.
But Joyce's leadership hasn't been without critique. He has faced wrath from unions and commentators over the outsourcing of ground crew jobs, working conditions at the airline, lacklustre service, and his pay packet – coming in at $2.3 million last financial year.
Indeed, Joyce dismissed the Transport Workers Union's resignation demands last year, telling reporters, as per ABC News:
I think I've had more resignation requests than any other CEO and probably any other public figure out there.
The unions typically do this at different times … so that's not unusual. It's part of the job.
Qantas share price snapshot
The Qantas share price has been outperforming recently.
Even with this morning's drop, it's gained 12% since the start of 2023. It has also risen 17% since this time last year.
Meanwhile, the ASX 200 has lifted 6% year to date and is trading flat year on year.
