Fridae

Alan Joyce has led Qantas for around 15 years as Group CEO.

“At the Board’s request, I extended my time as CEO to see through the COVID recovery plan, so now that we’re on the other side of that crisis it’s a logical time for me to step down..." said Joyce, announcing his decision. "There’s still a lot I want to deliver in the next six months and at the top of that list is ensuring a smooth handover to Vanessa, who I’m sure will excel in the role.”

“There’s not many female CEOs in the worldwide aviation industry and it’s a credit to this country that a gay man was appointed 15 years ago to be CEO of the company...” added Joyce.

Qantas Chairman Richard Goyder credited Joyce for steering the airline during troubled times. 

“Much of the credit for the bright future in front of Qantas goes to Alan..." said Goyder. "He’s faced more than his fair share of challenges as CEO and he’s managed them exceptionally well – from the GFC, to record oil prices, to intense competitive pressures and the COVID crisis. Alan has done a superb job of leading a team that is absolutely committed to the national carrier’s long-term success and it’s from that team that his successor has been chosen.”

Joyce was one of the prominent campaigners for Marriage Equality in Australia, donating AUD$1m to support the campaign.

“As an openly gay man and being the leader of this organisation and a high profile business leader in Australia, I felt it was very important that I led by example and was out there promoting the case...” explained Joyce, speaking about his support for the Marriage Equality campaign.

Who is Alan Joyce?

Joyce was born and raised in Tallaght, now a suburb of Dublin, but a separate village at the time of his birth. His mother was a cleaner and his father worked in a tobacco factory. He attended secondary school at St Mark's Community School in Springfield, Tallaght.

Joyce studied at science at Dublin Institute of Technology and Trinity College.

Joyce worked at the Irish airline Aer Lingus for eight years. He held a wide spectrum of positions in sales, marketing, information technology, network planning, operations research, revenue management and fleet planning. In 1996, he left Aer Lingus to join the now-defunct Ansett Australia.

In 2000, he joined Qantas to head the Network Planning, Schedules Planning and Network Strategy functions. Joyce was appointed CEO of Qantas subsidiary Jetstar Airways in 2003.

Joyce became CEO of Qantas in 2008.

In 2019, Joyce married Shane Lloyd at a ceremony in Sydney. The couple have been together for more than 20 years.

Speaking in the weeks after the vote, Alan Joyce said he was in Sydney with Lloyd, campaigner Magda Szubanski and others to hear the majority “yes” result announced. “I’ve never been as nervous about anything. I had a knot in my stomach. It was a big relief and there was just all the tears...” said Joyce. “It was an amazing occasion. I’m very proud of Australia. I’m very proud of the country that I now live in. I was very proud of Ireland for legalising same-sex marriage, but I was even prouder of Australia with this result.”