F.Y.I.

Virgin Australia appoints Andrew Cleary as chief customer officer and CEO Velocity

February 13, 2026 9:45

Virgin Australia has appointed Andrew Cleary to the role of chief customer officer and CEO Velocity, bringing all customer experience functions under one team.

The announcement:

Virgin Australia Holdings Limited (‘Virgin Australia’; ASX:VGN) today announces the appointment of Andrew Cleary as the airline’s chief customer officer and CEO Velocity.

This role brings together all aspects of customer experience under one team, which will further accelerate customer-facing initiatives across Virgin Australia and Velocity Frequent Flyer.

Mr Cleary is a customer experience and loyalty specialist, who has held senior executive positions at major Australian and international companies. Most recently at Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, Mr Cleary led the global Customer Experience team including the luxury hotel group’s Loyalty & CRM, Data & Insights, and Product Innovation functions. Previously he spent over seven years in diverse senior management roles at Qantas Airways including loyalty customer experience transformation, alliance partnerships, and investor relations.

Mr Cleary has a proven track record of delivering large-scale customer-focused business transformation programs across the aviation, hospitality and retail industries. Prior experience includes working as a financial journalist specialising in aviation and listed consumer brands. He will commence in the role on 23 March 2026 and will be based in Sydney.

Nick Rohrlach, chief executive officer Velocity Frequent Flyer and VARA Group executive has decided now is the right time to leave the airline and prioritise the next chapter in his family life, effective 30 April 2026. Mr Rohrlach will work closely with Mr Cleary during the transition period to ensure continuity for Velocity partners and members.

Mr Rohrlach joined Virgin Australia in September 2021. During his time at Virgin Australia Mr Rohrlach has continued to embed Velocity as one of Australia’s largest loyalty programs. Under his leadership the Velocity Frequent Flyer program has grown in strength and value. The program has achieved strong results, with significant EBIT and active membership growth during this time. With more than 80 partners including Myer, AGL, DiDi and Doordash, members now have more choice and greater flexibility following the recently launched Pay-with-Points feature, along with Platinum Plus and Forever Gold.

For more than two years Mr Rohrlach has also had responsibility for Virgin Australia’s Regional Airline (VARA), continuing to grow and invest in the Western Australia (WA) and charter business. A key milestone of that effort being the transition to the Embraer E190-E2, the first new aircraft type in WA’s charter market this century. Virgin Australia also announces that the Strategy and Transformation team will transition to report directly to the CEO, effective 30 April 2026. Virgin Australia’s Transformation Program has demonstrated strong delivery and momentum and plays a central role in driving further business improvement. The Strategy and Transformation team reporting directly to the CEO is an acknowledgment of the critical nature of this function going forward.

Virgin Australia chief strategy and transformation officer, Alistair Hartley will also step down from his role on 30 April 2026. Mr Hartley joined Virgin Australia as chief strategy and transformation officer in March 2021 and has been instrumental in the successful delivery of the airline’s Transformation Program. The program, under Mr Hartley’s leadership, has delivered significant results including more than $700m in gross benefits during FY24 and FY25. Mr Hartley also supported the airline’s successful IPO in June 2025, and has reshaped and simplified the fleet strategy. He was also key to Virgin Australia’s strategic partnership and integrated alliance with Qatar Airways. While the airline’s transformation journey remains ongoing, Mr Hartley has decided now is the right time for him to leave the company.

Commentary from Virgin Australia chief executive officer and managing director, 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. 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.

“We are delighted to welcome Andrew Cleary to Virgin Australia. His experience and deep industry knowledge will ensure we maintain our customer focus and find new ways to make their journey easier to manage and more rewarding, increasing the value and competitiveness of our 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.

“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.”

Commentary from incoming Virgin Australia chief customer officer and CEO Velocity, Andrew Cleary: “I am 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. 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.”

All previous forward-looking guidance as provided in the Market Update released on 14 November 2025 remains unchanged.

Virgin Australia will release to the market its 1HFY26 results on 27 February 2026.

This announcement was authorised for release by the Virgin Australia Board.