Qantas board unity.
What became apparent over Joyce’s 15-year tenure was the way in which he turned Qantas into his personal fiefdom,where he had apparently ultimate control over all major decisions.
This would not have been possible without an enabling board,which seemed (based on public-facing actions) devoid of meaningful dissenting opinions. Thus,the tail wagged the dog.
The Qantas board was the ultimate unity ticket,chaired by a fawning chairman,Richard Goyder,who regularly described Joyce as the best chief executive in the country.
To be sure,Joyce is a force of nature,fuelled by an EverReady battery that is rarely switched off. But imposing boundaries on his decision-making is part of the board’s job.
This board gave Joyce the green tick tosell 80 per cent of his stake in Qantas back in June. For years,it allowed Joyce to get away with avoiding spending money on fleet renewal,it happily hooveredsubsidies from the government,it silently watched Joyce gaslight customers and then rewarded him handsomely.
These can all be described as a serious lapse of judgement,but allowing Joyce to sell the bulk of his Qantas shares is a standout.