Goyder to kick goals at Qantas
FORMER Wesfarmers boss Richard Goyder will be the new chairman of Qantas, succeeding the outgoing Leigh Clifford in October.
Mr Clifford will retire from the chairmanship of Australia’s national carrier after 11 years in the role.
“It’s been an absolute privilege to lead the Qantas board for these past 11 years,” Mr Clifford said in a statement yesterday.
He has overseen a sometimes tumultuous period for the airline alongside chief executive officer Alan Joyce, with the carrier having endured a painful turnaround period before enjoying its current record high profits and soaring share price.
Qantas in May flagged a record fullyear underlying pre- tax profit of between $ 1.55 billion and $ 1.60 billion.
This is a far cry from the plummeting stock prices of the late 2000s and the 2011 grounding of the entire fleet over industrial action.
“Leigh has been a stellar chairman for Qantas and I’m looking forward to working with Richard in the years ahead,” Mr Joyce said.
Mr Goyder joined the Qantas board in November after ending his long tenure as managing director of Wesfarmers, the conglomerate that owns supermarket giant Coles and hardware chain Bunnings.
Mr Clifford said Mr Goyder was “one of the most experienced business leaders in Australia and an excellent choice to lead the Qantas board into the future”.
As Wesfarmers managing director, Mr Goyder was responsible for the failed Bunnings expansion into the UK in 2016.
The disastrous move, which ended with an embarrassing withdrawal, cost Wesfarmers and its shareholders $ 1.5 billion.
Mr Goyder will take over as chairman at Qantas’ annual general meeting on October 28.
Mr Goyder is also the chairman of Woodside Petroleum Limited and the AFL Commission.
Mr Clifford will also leave the Qantas board at the October AGM.