Alan Joyce

Alan Joseph Joyce, AC (born 30 June 1966) is an Irish businessman. He is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Australian airline Qantas.

Joyce was born and raised in Tallaght, now a suburb of Dublin, but a separate village at the time of his birth. His mother was a cleaner and his father worked in a tobacco factory. He attended secondary school at St Mark's Community School in Springfield, Tallaght.

Joyce and his three siblings attended university. Joyce attended Dublin Institute of Technology and Trinity College, Dublin. He graduated with Honours, receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Applied Science (Physics and Mathematics) and a Master of Science degree in Management Science. He is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society.

Joyce worked at Aer Lingus, the flag carrier of Ireland for eight years, where he held a wide spectrum of positions in sales, marketing, information technology, network planning, operations research, revenue management and fleet planning. In 1996, he left Aer Lingus to join the now-defunct Ansett Australia.

In 2000 he joined Qantas. At both Ansett Australia and Qantas, Joyce headed the Network Planning, Schedules Planning and Network Strategy functions. Joyce was appointed CEO of Qantas subsidiary Jetstar Airways in October 2003.

Joyce became CEO of Qantas on 28 November 2008. He is a former Director of Orangestar Investment Holdings Pte Limited (holding company of Singapore-based Jetstar Asia Airways and Valuair) and Jetstar Pacific Airlines Aviation Joint Stock Company (in Vietnam). On 29 October 2011, as a result of continuing industrial unrest following the announcement of job losses and structural changes at Qantas, Joyce grounded the entire Qantas mainline fleet.

The Australian named Joyce the most influential business leader in 2011. Yet a poll following his controversial 2011 grounding of the Qantas fleet showed the action has increased negative public perception of the airline. In 2011, Joyce's remuneration was increased 71 per cent from $2.92 million in 2009-10 to $5.01 million and he was granted 1.7 million Qantas shares under a long-term incentive plan. His reported comments that his salary was "conservative" were criticised by the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA).

Pieing incident

On 9 May 2017, Joyce was delivering a speech to a business breakfast event in Perth, when a lemon meringue pie was pushed into his face by an unknown assailant, later identified as Tony Overheu, a Western Australian farmer and Christian. Overheu, aged 67, gave a false name to police after the incident, but subsequently apologised for humiliating the CEO claiming that he pied the business figure due to his own personal belief that Joyce had overstepped the line in his gay marriage advocacy and the assailant's response simply reflected community push-back. Overheu was later charged with common assault, trespass, damage and giving false details to police,. Along with being banished from his church, he was also banned from flying Qantas (including Qantas' partner airlines).

Overheu appeared before Perth Magistrates Court on 7 July 2017, pleaded guilty to charges of assault and trespass, damaging the lapel microphone Joyce was wearing, and giving a false name to police after the incident. Overheu was fined $3,600, as well as ordered to pay $269 in compensation for the lapel microphone and $188 in costs. Overheu's lawyer said his client had had "physical and personal difficulties" in recent years, including mental health issues.

Joyce supports the LGBTI community and personally donated $1 million towards the campaign to allow same-sex marriage in Australia.He is the patron of the Pinnacle Foundation, an organisation which works with, "disadvantaged and marginalised LGBT Australians".For his work, he has been recognised on a global list of LGBT executives.

Joyce has pledged Qantas will, "continue social-justice campaigning". In relation to a rugby player, sacked by Rugby Australia which is financially supported by Qantas, following his social media postings on homosexuality, Mark Latham has said, "there's no doubt Folau was sacked by Qantas".

• The Australian named Joyce the most influential business leader in 2011.
• Joyce is an Ambassador of the Australian Indigenous Education Foundation
• Joyce named a Companion of the Order of Australia, Australia's highest civil honour, in the 2017 Queen's birthday honours list

This honour awarded for "eminent service to the aviation transport industry, to the development of the national and international tourism sectors, to gender equity, inclusion and diversity, and to the community, particularly as a supporter of Indigenous education"

Joyce is openly gay and married his long term partner, Shane Lloyd, on 2 November 2019. Joyce and Lloyd, a New Zealander, had been in a relationship since 1999. The two live in the inner-Sydney suburb of The Rocks. In 2011, Joyce was successfully treated for prostate cancer.