Victor Pody shot this Virgin Australia 737-800, VH-VOK, in Melbourne.
Two senior Virgin Australia executives are leaving the airline amid a management restructure.
Velocity Frequent Flyer CEO and VARA group executive Nick Rohrlach, and chief strategy and transformation officer Alistair Hartley, will depart Virgin Australia as of 30 April. Rohrlach will be replaced by hotel executive and former Qantas senior manager Andrew Cleary.
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The move comes as Virgin looks to bring its customer experience and frequent-flyer divisions together for greater efficiency, said CEO Dave Emerson.
“As Virgin Australia continues its transformation strategy following a successful IPO and the integration of our Qatar Airways partnership, we are reorganising our leadership structure to drive greater customer-centricity and commercial performance,” he said.
“Combining our customer experience, marketing, and Velocity loyalty capabilities under unified leadership will enable faster decision making, better integration of customer data and insights, and enhanced value creation from our loyalty ecosystem.”
Rohrlach has served as Velocity CEO since 2021, when he famously jumped ship from Qantas in a move that sparked a legal battle between the two rival airlines; the stoush ended in 2022 when both carriers decided to walk away.
He will assist Cleary during the transition period starting 23 March before leaving to “prioritise the next chapter in his family life”, while Hartley – who has been with Virgin since 2021 and played a major role in implementing its transformation program – has “decided now is the right time for him to leave the company”, Virgin says.
Cleary, a former financial journalist with a specialty in aviation, was most recently the leader of the global experience team at luxury hotel group Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, and said he is “honoured to be joining Virgin Australia’s leadership team during this exciting phase of the airline’s growth story”.
“Bringing customer experience and loyalty together as one team is a commitment to putting the end customer at the forefront of everything Virgin Australia does,” he said.
“In this next chapter of growth there is an incredible opportunity to continue to build deeper loyalty among flyers, pursue new strategic partnerships, and realise the commercial potential of Velocity Frequent Flyer.”
According to Emerson, Cleary’s industry experience will “ensure [Virgin] maintains [its] customer focus and find new ways to make their journey easier to manage and more rewarding, increasing the value and competitiveness of [its] loyalty business”.
“Separately, Virgin Australia’s Strategy and Transformation team will transition to report directly to me as CEO, effective 30 April 2026. With ongoing initiatives in cost and revenue optimisation, direct CEO leadership ensures these efforts remain strategically focused and fully integrated with our commercial and operational plans,” he said.
“The Board and Management Team would like to thank Nick Rohrlach and Alistair Hartley for their significant contribution to the airline, during some of the most challenging times as the aviation industry rebuilt post the pandemic. Their leadership and commitment have been fundamental in shaping our teams, driving results, and building the culture we have today.”
Virgin is set to release its half-yearly results on 27 February.