Qantas must look externally for Richard Goyder’s replacement as chairman, as experts and unions argue there is no reason to wait a year for new leadership.

The warning comes after Qantas replaced long-time CEO Alan Joyce with an internal hire, Vanessa Hudson, and after Goyder announced on Wednesday his retirement in 2024.

Mark Humphery-Jenner, a corporate governance expert from the University of NSW school of banking and finance, said while Qantas should consider all candidates to replace Goyder, there were benefits to appointing someone from the outside.

“Two of the directors are also going to be resigning early next year, two other ones are up for election and we don’t know if they’ll be reappointed, and it’s not clear if you’d necessarily want them as chair of the board,” he said.

“Looking externally will be very useful because of the talent pool and because they’d need to get an independent chair, ideally.”

Goyder will retire as chair in the next 12 months after being appointed in 2018, despite reiterating he maintained the support of the board and would stay on in the role.

He has overseen a turbulent period for the ‘flying kangaroo’, which includes selling tickets to cancelled flights, accusations of undue influence on government decisions and the mishandling of flight credits.

Humphery-Jenner said it would be difficult to find a replacement before the Qantas annual meeting in November.

“That then begs the question … should [he] have announced this earlier, and then had some time to find someone to put up as chair,” he said.

“There isn’t necessarily any good reason for him to wait for another year if they can find a replacement.”

The TWU argues Goyder should leave early like former CEO Alan Joyce. Photo: AAP

Union calls for swift exit

The Transport Workers Union, which has faced down Qantas in court for sacking thousands of airport staff, has called on Goyder to step down early, like Joyce, and for the CEO position to be removed from the board and to be replaced by a worker representative.

TWU national secretary Michael Kaine said Goyder’s announcement was an attempt “to leave in a dignified manner with another year’s pay in his pocket, after presiding over the largest case of illegal sackings in Australian history”.

“A fresh start for Qantas governance requires a new board composition that excludes the CEO and embeds a worker representative to avoid the repeat of colossal errors of judgment,” he said.

“Qantas has become a wannabe luxury consumer brand that really acts as a funnel for corporate greed.”

With Jacqueline Hey and Maxine Brenner retiring when Qantas announces its half-year results in February and three new directors – Hudson, Dr Heather Smith and Doug Parker – up for election at the AGM in November, it is a time of serious upheaval at the airline.

Humphery-Jenner said Goyder was likely staying to provide stability for Hudson, who replaced Joyce earlier in the year.

Challenges ahead

Goyder’s replacement will hope their tenure at the helm won’t be as bruising as their predecessor’s, after he was grilled over anti-consumer activities at Senate estimate hearings.

Humphery-Jenner said whoever replaced Goyder should “bear in mind that it could be a rather public and slightly brutal role to be taking on”.

“There’s a few major concerns, but first and foremost is rebuilding customer trust,” he said.

“Alan Joyce and Goyder – and to some extent Vanessa Hudson – have been polarising, so they’re going to need to do more to perhaps repair relationships with Canberra overall.”

Vanessa Hudson inherits an airline struggling to win the battle of public opinion. Photo: AAP

He said so far, the market has reacted positively to the announcement that Goyder and two directors will step down.

“Qantas’s stock price went up nearly 2 per cent, at least at the time of speaking, and the ASX went up about 0.6 per cent, with both American and United seeing their stock prices going up in the prior day of trading,” Humphery-Jenner said.

“For the next AGM, shareholders might want to be mindful of whether that resignation actually occurs or whether he ultimately does stay on at the board.”