Qantas has made sweeping changes to its senior executive ranks with the heads of its Domestic and International operations heading for the departure gate as part of a major restructure.
Lyell Strambi, who runs Qantas Domestic, and the head of Qantas International Simon Hickey will leave the company once the new structure is in place by March 2015, Qantas said in a statement released on Friday afternoon.
In their place, Andrew David has been promoted to the chief executive of Qantas Domestic from his current position of Qantas chief operating officer, while current Qantas chief financial officer Gareth Evans moves across to run Qantas International.
Current QantasLink chief executive John Gissing gets an expanded role as group executive of associated airlines and services. He will keep responsibility for the regional carrier, as well as New Zealand-based Jetconnect and fly-in/fly-out operator Network Aviation.
Evans’ replacement as chief financial officer will be Tino La Spina, who is currently the deputy chief financial officer.
And Robert Marcolina will have an expanded role as group executive for strategy, transformation and IT.
Qantas said the changes were the first major restructure of the company’s executive committee since May 2012 and would result in a “flatter structure for the broader Qantas group executive team”, given the deputy chief financial officer, QantasLink chief executive and Qantas chief operating officer roles were not being replaced.
“In the 12 months since we announced our accelerated transformation program, we have made excellent progress,” Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said in a statement.
“But there is still a lot of work to build the foundation for a stronger, more sustainable and more successful Qantas. This new executive team will lead this work forward to deliver for our customers, shareholders and employees according to the strategy we have laid out.”
Evans has held the role of chief financial officer since 2010, when he replaced Colin Storrie.
A 15-year veteran of the company, Evans had previously worked on flight scheduling, pricing, revenue management and airline operations, as well as preparing the airline for the entry of the Airbus A380 into the fleet.
David is a recent arrival at Qantas, having joined the company in 2013. Previously, the 53-year-old has worked at Jetstar, Tiger Airways Australia (where he was chief executive for 18 months), Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand.
Hickey, whose time at Qantas included roles at its frequent flyer and freight business said it was the right time to explore new opportunities.
Meanwhile, Strambi said it he was keen for a new challenge outside the aviation sector after six years at Qantas and more than three decades in the industry including stints at Virgin Atlantic and Ansett.
New executive team
- Chief executive Qantas Domestic: Andrew David
- Chief executive Qantas International: Gareth Evans
- Group executive associated airlines and services: John Gissing
- Group executive strategy, transformation and IT: Robert Marcolina
- Group chief financial officer: Tino La Spina
Unchanged roles
- General counsel and company secretary: Andrew Finch
- Chief executive Qantas Loyalty: Lesley Grant
- Chief executive Jetstar: Jayne Hrdlicka
- Group executive of government and international affairs: Andrew Parker
- Group executive of people and office of the chief executive: Jon Scriven
- Group executive brand, marketing and corporate affairs: Olivia Wirth
