Virgin Australia (ASX:VGN) announced a significant consolidation of its executive leadership, appointing industry veteran Andrew Cleary as the airline's new Chief Customer Officer and CEO of Velocity Frequent Flyer.
The newly created dual role is designed to unify the airline's customer experience and loyalty initiatives under a single banner, aiming to accelerate consumer-facing innovation across the group.
Cleary joins the carrier with an extensive background in hospitality and aviation, having most recently served as the global head of customer experience for the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group in Hong Kong.
His resume also includes a seven-year tenure at rival Qantas, where he managed loyalty transformation and investor relations.
Based in Sydney, Cleary is set to officially commence his duties on March 23.
The appointment follows the departure of Nick Rohrlach, the outgoing CEO of Velocity and VARA Group Executive, who will exit the company on April 30, to focus on family life.
Rohrlach is credited with significantly expanding Velocity's partner ecosystem—adding brands like Myer and DoorDash—and overseeing the transition of the Western Australian charter fleet to the modern Embraer E190-E2.
Virgin Australia also confirmed that its strategy and transformation team will now report directly to the group CEO.
At the time of reporting, Virgin Australia's share price was $3.28.