Australia’s Qantas Airways penalises CEO over data breach with bonus cut
Vanessa Hudson was docked US$163,397 in pay for the incident that exposed personal data of 6 million customers
Qantas CEO Vanessa Hudson will receive A$6.3 million (US$4.09 million) for the year to June 30, including a short-term bonus of A$2.04 million, trimmed by A$250,000 as part of the penalty, its annual report said.
The total pay figure remains a fraction of the A$23.9 million received by former CEO Alan Joyce at the height of his tenure in 2018.
The data breach, disclosed in July, targeted a Qantas call centre database containing 6 million names, email addresses, phone numbers, birth dates and frequent flier details.
It further dented public trust in Australia’s biggest air carrier, which is still repairing its image after pandemic-era decisions battered its reputation and led to a tumble in airline and brand rankings.
“While we recognise that the investigations into this incident may not be finalised for some time, it is important for both our executives and shareholders that the pay consequences of this incident be dealt with this year,” Qantas said.