Alan Joyce will retire as head of Qantas after 15 years at the helm to be replaced by the national carrier’s financial chief.

The airline announced on Tuesday that the role of chief executive and managing director would go to chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson once Mr Joyce retires in November.

Qantas chairman Richard Goyder said the appointment came after a rigorous selection process and allowed for a smooth transition following Mr Joyce’s long tenure.

“Vanessa has a deep understanding of this business after almost three decades in a range of roles both onshore and offshore, across commercial, customer and finance,” he said.

“She has a huge amount of airline experience and she’s an outstanding leader.”

Mr Goyder also paid tribute to the outgoing chief executive’s leadership, saying he had left the airline well-positioned and in a strong financial position.

“Much of the credit for the bright future in front of Qantas goes to Alan,” Mr Goyder said.

Mr Joyce said he had extended his time as Qantas chief executive at the board’s request to see through the airline’s COVID-19 recovery plan.

“Now that we’re on the other side of that crisis it’s a logical time for me to step down,” he said.

Ms Hudson has served as the airline’s chief financial officer since 2019 and has filled a series of Qantas executive roles during her almost-30-year career at the carrier.

She said it was an honour to be asked to lead the airline and was focused on delivering for customers, employees and shareholders.

RBC Capital Markets analyst Owen Birrell said Ms Hudson was the logical choice as the most suitable and appropriate candidate.

“She has been involved in developing group strategy for the last five years and also led the fleet selection process in 2022 for the renewal of the domestic jet aircraft fleet,” Mr Birrell said.

Her market-facing job as the airline’s chief financial officer since October 2019 will have prepared her well for the “very public” role as Qantas CEO, he added.

Mr Joyce, who was born in Ireland, took the helm at Qantas in November 2008 after previously heading its budget subsidiary, Jetstar.

He has been credited with helping to turn around the airline’s fortunes, including the delivery of soaring profits after it emerged from the aviation doldrums of the COVID pandemic.

But his tenure attracted controversy for his battles with unions, including over the 2020 decision to outsource the jobs of about 1600 ground crew.

The Federal Court found the pandemic-era move was illegal, a decision the airline has appealed to the High Court.

The highs and lows of Alan Joyce’s Qantas career

KEY MOMENTS IN ALAN JOYCE’S CAREER AS QANTAS CEO

* 1996 – Mr Joyce resigns from Irish flag carrier Aer Lingus to work at the now-defunct Ansett Australia.

* 2000 – He joins Qantas as an executive heading the network planning and strategy, and schedules planning teams.

* 2003 – He is appointed chief executive of budget carrier Jetstar Airways, a Qantas subsidiary.

* 2008 – Mr Joyce becomes chief executive of Qantas.

* 2011 – He grounds Qantas’ entire international and domestic fleet indefinitely following industrial action, saying Qantas had no choice but to shut down its business incrementally if the dispute continued. QantasLink and Jetstar were not affected.

* 2017 – The openly gay Mr Joyce makes a personal donation of $1 million to the ‘yes’ same-sex marriage campaign in Australia.

* 2017 – An assailant, Tony Overheu, pushes a lemon meringue pie into Mr Joyce’s face at a Perth business breakfast event. Overheu, a Christian, said his actions reflected community push back against Mr Joyce’s gay marriage advocacy. Overheu was fined $3,600.

* 2019 – Mr Joyce extends his tenure as chief executive until 2022 at the request of the board and new chairman Richard Goyder.

* 2021 – He gains a pay rise of nearly $2 million despite thousands of staff being cut due to the COVID-19 pandemic. His earnings were about 80 per cent less than his pre-pandemic annual earnings of about $10 million, according to Qantas’s annual report. The company in August posted a full-year net loss of $1.73 billion for 2021.

* 2022 – The Transport Workers Union calls for Mr Joyce to resign after 14 years in the job. Mr Goyder rules out a change in leadership before the end of 2023 at the Qantas annual general meeting.

* 2023 – Mr Joyce steps down as chief executive after 15 years. Chief financial officer Vanessa Hudson is announced as the airline’s new head after he retires at the November meeting. Ms Hudson has served as chief financial officer since 2019 and has filled a series of executive roles during her almost-30-years career at Qantas.