Former Qantas boss Alan Joyce’s new book to ‘set the record straight’ and ‘encourage young leaders’
The controversial former Qantas chief says the book, to be released in July will “set the record straight on what actually happened during my career”.
Former Qantas boss Alan Joyce says his upcoming memoir is about “setting the record straight” and encouraging young leaders to learn from his mistakes.
Orders opened on Wednesday for his Riding the Jet Stream, which will be released on July 28.
Publisher Hardie Grant describes the book as “a compelling, factual and gripping memoir from one of Australia’s most consequential chief executives”.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“Few chief executives have been tested as relentlessly: the Global Financial Crisis, bitter industrial battles, unrelenting public scrutiny and the near collapse of aviation during COVID,” it said.
Irish-born and openly gay, Mr Joyce headed Qantas for 15 years and was a prominent advocate for the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Australia in 2017.
However, his tenure at the carrier came to a messy end nearly three years ago amid customer anger over its chaotic emergence from the pandemic and accusations it sold thousands of air fares on already cancelled flights.
Mr Joyce posted on LinkedIn on Wednesday that he had been motivated to write the book “to set the record straight on what actually happened during my career”.
“So much was written and said in real time,” he said.
“I wanted to tell it as it actually unfolded, in the room, under pressure, with every decision carrying enormous consequences for tens of thousands of people.”
Also, he “wanted to encourage young leaders to learn from my successes and my failures, because I think that’s where the real lessons sit”.
“This book is also about resilience, what it actually feels like to lead through a crisis when there is no playbook, it’s about leadership under genuine pressure, the kind that doesn’t relent”.
The memoir includes endorsements by former Qantas chair Leigh Clifford and one-time governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove, a former Qantas director, who says Mr Joyce “overcame enormous challenges to be regarded as the best CEO in the nation”.
Mr Joyce was one of the country’s best paid chief executives, pocketing more than $115m during his tenure at the top.
He sold most of his Qantas shares before stepping down from the airline in September 2023, handing the baton to Vanessa Hudson.
