Qantas changes its tech leadership

Qantas has named the former boss of its regional arm to lead technology, AI and transformation across the group.

The appointment was announced internally at the airline back in December and reported briefly at the time, but drew more significant attention overnight as the airline progressed with a head office restructure that included job cuts.

Qantas’ new technology leader is Rachel Yangoyan, with her official title being chief technology, AI and transformation officer.

According to the airline’s website, Yangoyan “has accountability for the group's IT and technology, AI strategy, data and analytics, and enterprise technology-driven transformation programs.”

She has been with Qantas for almost 23 years, most recently as the chief executive of QantasLink.

Yangoyan replaces group CIO of two years Andrew Walduck, whose LinkedIn profile shows he finished up at the airline this month.

Walduck previously spent time at Latitude Financial Services, although is probably best known for his stint at Australia Post, where he held CIO, CDO and innovation executive roles.

While Yangoyan has overarching responsibility for AI, it’s understood that the airline group will separately appoint a group chief AI officer to lead implementation and scaling of AI across the organisation.