Episode Details

This episode is supported by Xero, helping businesses use AI with more control through JAX, its in-platform AI finance partner. Get 90% off your plan for your first 6 months at xero.com/highflyers. 

Find out more about the Law Firm Allens and how they can help your company today at Allens.com.au

________

What does it take to go from a working-class suburb of Dublin to running one of the world’s most recognisable airlines? And what happens when the decisions you made to save a company become the decisions that define your reputation?

Alan Joyce is the former CEO of Qantas, one of the world’s oldest and most recognised airlines, which he led for 15 years. He was also the founding CEO of Jetstar, building the airline from scratch before steering Qantas through the QF32 engine failure, industrial disputes and a pandemic that brought global aviation to a standstill.

In this unusually candid conversation, Alan goes beyond the familiar headlines. He reflects on his parents’ journey from poverty, growing up gay in conservative Ireland and how an accidental career in aviation led him to become one of the industry’s most polarising leaders.

Vidit also puts some of the hard questions directly to Alan: the mistakes Qantas made, why he stayed through COVID, whether his book is an attempt to reclaim his reputation and what he would do differently. Alan shares the mentors who shaped him, the weaknesses that created problems throughout his career and how life changed when he was no longer Qantas CEO.

This is a different conversation with Alan Joyce: less about relitigating the headlines, and more about understanding how he thinks, why he made the decisions he did and what he has learned from the successes and mistakes.

Please enjoy exploring your curiosity.

_______

Get in touch with us via email at contact@curiositycentre.com

Join our stable of commercial partners including the Australian Government, Google, KPMG, Allens, Macquarie Capital, Xero, JP Morgan and more. 

Show notes and more episodes here

Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram

Get in touch with our Founder and Host, Vidit Agarwal directly here

Contact us via our website

This episode is supported by Xero, helping businesses use AI with more control through JAX, its in-platform AI finance partner. Get 90% off your plan for your first 6 months at xero.com/highflyers. 

________

TIMESTAMPS

00:00:13 Why Alan Joyce divides opinion
00:04:43 His parents’ journey from poverty
00:08:41 Competition, karate and regret
00:12:26 The drive to become CEO
00:16:12 Growing up gay in Ireland
00:20:43 Compartmentalising under pressure
00:31:34 His accidental path into aviation
00:39:26 Early lessons at Aer Lingus
00:49:48 Learning to lead Jetstar
00:53:28 His strengths and blind spots
00:58:06 When Jetstar instincts hurt Qantas
01:03:24 The hardest truth about his exit
01:07:54 Is the book to repair his reputation? 
01:13:47 Would he become a CEO again?
01:16:27 Who is Alan without the title?
01:24:42 Rapid-fire questions
01:31:57 Who