OPINION

Todd Sampson and his performance at Qantas’ annual general meeting on Friday reveal everything that’s wrong with the airline and its board.

The AGM was the first chance investors had to express their anger
at Qantas’ recent failings.

This long list includes allegedly selling tickets to 8000 flights it had already cancelled; making it near-impossible for customers to redeem half a billion dollars worth of Covid-era refunds; and the High Court finding it illegally 1700 ground crew in the midst of the Covid crisis so it could outsource their jobs.

And no one copped their wrath at the AGM more than Sampson, a self-styled brand and advertising guru who has sat on the company’s board for six years.

Sampson was re-elected with a 66 per cent vote from shareholders, enough to get him over the required 50 per cent mark. He should count himself very lucky.

Sampson told the meeting he had reflected extensively on whether to stand for re-election. He decided in the affirmative because of what he could offer the company by way of his advertising and marketing experience.

“Our brand and reputation have suffered considerable damage,” said Sampson, who, in keeping with his carefully curated image, wore a T-shirt to the AGM.

“Of all times in Qantas’ history, especially with a new chief executive, this is when my experience will be most valuable,” he told gathered shareholders.

This is an astonishing statement from a man who has been on the board since 2017 and picked up more than A$1.5 million in directors’ fees for the part-time job.

Sampson stood by and watched as the Qantas brand got trashed, then showed up at the AGM and argued he should be re-elected because he can fix the problem.

During his tenure, Qantas became the most-complained-about business in Australia, because of its appalling record of on-time flights since Covid and a huge number of flight cancellations.

And internal Qantas research leaked to the Australian Financial Review last week reveals Qantas has slumped behind rival Virgin Australia on all measures of brand trust, pride, value and transparency.

The percentage of consumers who say they trust Qantas, for instance, has fallen from 70 per cent in August to 49 per cent. In that time, consumers who trust Virgin rose from 53 per cent to 59 per cent.

Investors are rightly asking: Where was brand guru Sampson while all this was happening? And why does he think he’s the right person to lead the airline out of the mess?

Sampson was the director most at risk of losing his board seat because… He was lucky to survive. The fact that a third of shareholders voted against his re-election is a huge indictment on his performance, when you consider the average vote against directors at AGMs is about 4 per cent.

Shareholders also didn’t hold back when it came to voting against the airline’s remuneration report. Voting down the rem report is a tactic often used by shareholders as a way to protest poor performance, even if remuneration hasn’t been a problem. But it was at Qantas, which had a pay structure that saw a former chief executive walk away with a payout of more than A$21 million while leaving the airline in a terrible state.

Some 83 per cent of shareholders voted against the rem report. This is the first time Qantas has received a remuneration strike, and is one of the biggest strikes ever recorded in Australian corporate history. It a huge embarrassment.

If the company’s remuneration report is voted down again next year, it will automatically trigger a board spill and all directors will be up for re-election.

Chairman Richard Goyder said the vote was “a very clear message from shareholders”.

“And it’s matched by our determination to restore confidence and trust,” he said.

Flying economy ‘more often’

The AGM also heard that only two of Qantas’ 11 board members have caught an economy flight to an international destination in the last year. To his credit, Sampson was one of them. Judging by his board performance, the experience didn’t give him any insight about the problems the unwashed masses face when they fly Qantas.

“You ought to put yourself in the shoes of our rank and customer base. We get it, you’re very important, but put yourself in the shoes of the average Joe and see what kind of experience they’re having,” a shareholder told the board.

Goyder clearly has no intention of sitting anywhere but the pointy end of the plane.

He said chief executive Vanessa Hudson – one of Joyce’s lieutenants and arguably part of the problem – and her team are flying economy “more often”, but declined to provide further details.

Ahead of the AGM, Goyder had already announced his intention to leave the board, although not for another year, arguing that he needed to stay for continuity

That gives him plenty of time to squeeze in a few more first-class flights.

Christopher Niesche is an Australia-based financial journalist with 25 years’ experience on Australia’s major newspapers, most recently as deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review.