Newly appointed Myer board member Olivia Wirth has stepped down as CEO of Qantas Loyalty.
Wirth has held the Qantas Loyalty role since 2018 and has been with Qantas overall since 2009, holding positions such as CCO and group executive for brand, marketing and corporate affairs.
She will finish her tenure in February 2024 to pursue other opportunities, with a process to appoint a new CEO of Qantas Loyalty commencing shortly.
Last week, Wirth was nominated for election as an independent non-executive director on the Myer board, alongside Dr Gary Weiss.
In the same swoop, JoAnne Stephenson announced her retirement as Myer chairman and director, with non-executive Ari Mervis expected to take over the role.
This comes after a review completed during the second half of the financial year to consider further director candidates, as well as review the overall size of the Myer board.
Both Wirth and Dr Weiss have the support of Myer’s largest shareholder, Solomon Lew, chairman of Premier Investments.
Qantas Group CEO Vanessa Hudson thanked Wirth for her contribution to the airline over the last 14 years.
“As CEO of Loyalty, she drove huge expansion of what the program offers and that shows in the growth in members and their engagement levels,” Hudson said.
“During COVID, Loyalty was one of the few parts of our business that was able to carry on, which took a lot of hard work and imagination.
“There are many improvements for customers in the pipeline that Olivia will continue working on with her team over the next few months, as part of setting this part of the business up for continued success.
“As well as the other senior roles she held, Olivia has been a member of the Group Management Committee for more than a decade and on behalf of the organisation I’d like to sincerely thank her for everything she’s done.”
Wirth said Qantas has been a major part of her professional life.
“I’m really grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given over the years,” she said. “At its core, Qantas is an incredible company and brand and I’ve loved being part of it.
“I’m extremely proud of what the team at Loyalty has achieved and I’m looking forward to delivering more improvements for members before I leave.”