Qantas has named Tino La Spina as the new head of its international operations.
La Spina will move from his current role as Qantas chief financial officer to chief executive of Qantas international on October 1 2019, the airline said on Wednesday.
He replaces Alison Webster, who was Qantas international chief executive for less than two years before leaving the company in late April. No explanation was given for Webster’s resignation, which was announced on April 11.
Qantas said Vanessa Hudson will become the new chief financial officer from the start of October. Hudson, who has been at the airline in a variety of roles since 1994, is currently its chief customer officer.
La Spina been chief financial officer since 2014, when he replaced Gareth Evans. His previous roles since joining the airline in 2006 have included deputy chief financial officer, executive manager, finance and commercial for Qantas loyalty, and general manager for strategy.
“Vanessa started with Qantas 24 years ago in finance and audit, before moving to senior roles in inflight services, commercial planning, sales and distribution, and regional head of Qantas in the US,” Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said in a statement.
“It means she brings a deep understanding of our business as well as a strong background in finance to the role of CFO.
“Tino has been with Qantas for 13 years in a series of senior finance roles, which has given him a detailed understanding of what drives results in each part of the Group.”
In the meantime, Narendra Kumar would continue as acting Qantas international chief executive until the October.
Qantas international reported a 60 per cent decline in underlying earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) for the six months to December 31 2018.
The airline’s 2018/19 first half results showed underlying EBIT fell from $222 million to $90 million, while revenue grew 6.7 per cent to $3.7 billion.
Fuel costs for Qantas international rose $219 million in the half, Qantas said in a slide presentation accompanying its financial results.
Qantas said the process to find a new chief customer officer would begin shortly.
