Qantas Loyalty CEO, Olivia Wirth, is taking flight from airline in February 2024 after a 14-year career that also saw her heading up marketing, customer and public affairs.

The news comes as Qantas appoints a new chief people officer tasked with building a stronger culture and relationships with employees across the embattled airline.

In an ASX release, Qantas confirmed Wirth will leave in February to pursue other opportunities and said the process to appoint a new Loyalty CEO will begin shortly. Last week, Wirth was announced as one of two new non-executive directors on the board at Myer. She's also been on the board of UNICEF Australia for more than seven years.

Wirth has been the CEO of Qantas’ Frequent Flyer business since 2018. During this time, the program has recruited 3 million additional members, bringing its total membership base to 15 million. The business division has also grown its hotel, holiday package, insurance and financial services products. Wirth was reportedly one of the frontrunners to the CEO job to replace Alan Joyce five months ago but lost out to Vanessa Hudson's promotion to the top group job.

In the statement, Qantas also highlighted Wirth’s contribution across a number of senior roles, including as chief customer officer, a position she held for six months. Between May 2013 and November 2017, Wirth was group executive for brand, marketing and corporate affairs. She originally joined the airline in 2009 as head of corporate affairs and public relations, having built experience in these disciplines previously across Tourism Australia and UK-based Business in the Community.  

“As CEO of Loyalty, Olivia drove huge expansion of what the program offers and that shows in the growth in members and their engagement levels,” Hudson stated. “During Covid, Loyalty was one of the few parts of our business that was able to carry on, which took a lot of hard work and imagination. There are many improvements for customers in the pipeline that Olivia will continue working on with her team over the next few months, as part of setting this part of the business up for continued success.” 

Hudson pointed out Wirth has been a member of the group management committee for more than a decade. For her part, Wirth expressed gratitude for the opportunities she’d been given to grow professionally over the years.

“Qantas had been a massive part of my professional life,” she commented. “At its core, Qantas is an incredible company and brand and I’ve loved being part of it. I’m extremely proud of what the team at Loyalty has achieved and I’m looking forward to delivering more improvements for members before I leave.”

News of Wirth’s departure came as Qantas confirmed Catherine Walsh as its new chief people officer from January. She brings 25 years’ experience in human resources and industrial relations across organisations including Australia Post, Downer and Spotless. Notably, Walsh has recently been a member of the refreshed leadership team driving cultural change at PWC.

The newly created chief people role comes at a time when Qantas’ relationship with its 25,000 employees could not be more fraught. Just a month ago, the airline’s new CEO made an historic apology to workers after the Australian High Court dismissed an appeal and upheld a ruling the airline took unlawful action by outsourcing its ground handling work during the pandemic. About 1700 workers who were sacked could now be in the running to receive hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation and penalties.

In a video apology released on 22 September, Hudson said Qantas acknowledge it had left employees down and said she was working to reach settlement “as quickly and reasonably as possible”.  

In the latest release, Qantas stated the people function under Walsh’s leadership is now tasked with helping lead recruitment of thousands of new roles across the group in coming years.

“Ultimately, building a stronger culture and better relationships with our people is one of my highest priorities and a shared responsibility across management,” Hudson stated. “As our chief people officer, Catherine will support those collective efforts by ensuring we always value the incredible contribution our people make to this organisation and listen to their insights, especially as we welcome thousands more to the Group to support our growth.”