• Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka and Boeing President of Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific Maria Fernandez have kicked off the first-ever mentoring program between the two companies.
• The program aims to advance careers and opportunities for upcoming leaders at two of Australia’s biggest aviation employers.  
• It is one of the first initiatives under the organisations’ sustainability partnership Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which was inked in Seattle in late June following the delivery of Virgin Australia’s first 737-8 aircraft.
• The MOU has five areas of focus ranging from Sustainable Aviation Fuel to high quality carbon offsets and workforce inclusion. 

15 August 2023: The CEOs of Virgin Australia and Boeing Australia have launched the first-ever mentoring program between the organisations as they accelerate a newly activated sustainability partnership.

Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka will personally mentor Boeing Aerostructures Australia’s Finance General Manager Jennifer Hill, while Boeing’s President of Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific Maria Fernandez will mentor Virgin Australia’s Head of Revenue Management Emma Craighead.

The program will run for 12 months and will include development areas such as building leadership skills, navigating complexity, and driving operational excellence.

Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the program highlighted the breadth of the organisations’ sustainability partnership.

“At Virgin Australia we put our people at the core of our business and we are focused on strengthening our development and inclusion efforts. Boeing has a like-minded approach in this area, so we are incredibly excited to have this program underway early in the partnership,” she said.

“Our sustainability MOU builds on the deep technology relationship between Virgin Australia and Boeing, and we hope the mentoring program is the start of more joint workforce inclusion initiatives.”

Boeing President of Australia, New Zealand and South Pacific Maria Fernandez said: “Virgin Australia and Boeing Australia share a commitment to delivering safe and sustainable flight to passengers every day. We also share a commitment to developing our people, including through this unique mentoring program that will provide opportunities for upcoming leaders to advance their careers and foster relationships across company boundaries.”

Organisational development and inclusion is one of five key areas of focus under the partnership MOU, which encourages the organisations to leverage their significant local footprints and aviation expertise to advance sustainability-related outcomes.

Other focus areas include Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) development, Australian high quality carbon offsets, First Nations engagement and inclusion, and advancing the ambitions of Australia-US bilateral clean energy cooperation.

ENDS.