Qantas chair John Mullen on life after Alan Joyce and rebuilding the airline

<p><em>This is just an excerpt. The full interview with JOHN MULLEN is available exclusively for Rampart subscribers - go to rampart.news to watch now.</em></p><p>John Mullen is the chair of Qantas and one of Australia’s most respected business leaders.</p><p>He took over as chair in February 2024 when the company was at a low ebb. Long time CEO Alan Joyce had resigned in disgrace the previous year and the company was broadly loathed by the Australian public.</p><p>Two years later, Mullen says Qantas is in a much stronger position, both because of improved performance metrics like on-time performance but also a better corporate culture and “low ego” environment.</p><p>As well as his duties at Qantas, Mullen chairs global logistics company Brambles, Treasury Wine Estates, professional services advisory Scyne and is a non-executive director of Brookfield Infrastructure Corporation.</p><p>In this podcast interview, he speaks about his decades of leadership in the corporate sector, running the port and rail operator Asciano, negotiating with the union movement and working at TNT/Ansett under Rupert Murdoch and Australian corporate legend Sir Peter Abeles, who he calls a mentor.</p><p>Mullen also discusses his deep passion for maritime history. He helped fund the search for the wreck of the <em>Montevideo Maru</em>, the Japanese warship that was sunk in World War Two carrying Australian prisoners of war, making it the greatest loss of life in the country’s history in one single incident. </p><p><br></p><p><em>Rampart Talks is brought to you by</em><a href="https://resolveforensic.com.au/"><em> ⁠</em></a><a href="https://bhp.com/"><em>⁠BHP⁠</em></a><em>, </em><a href="https://www.raywhitecommercial.com/"><em>⁠Evidentia Group</em></a> and <a href="https://www.raywhitecommercial.com/"><em>Ray White Commercial⁠</em></a>.</p><p><br></p><p><strong>About Joe Aston:</strong></p><p><em>Joe Aston is one of Australia&#39;s most influential commentators on business, finance and politics.</em></p><p><br></p><p><em>For 12 years, he struck fear into the hearts of the nation&#39;s political and corporate leaders, transforming The Australian Financial Review&#39;s Rear Window into the nation&#39;s premier daily column.</em></p><p><br></p><p><em>In 2024, he became a best-selling author with the publication of his first book, The Chairman&#39;s Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out.</em></p><p><br></p><p><em>And in 2025, he launched</em><a href="https://rampart.news/"><em> ⁠Rampart⁠</em></a><em>, a premium subscription news publication specialising in Australian business and finance. </em></p><p><br></p><p><em>Follow Joe Aston on</em><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/mrjoeaston/"><em> ⁠LinkedIn⁠</em></a><em> and</em><a href="https://x.com/mrjoeaston"><em> ⁠X⁠</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><em>Follow Rampart on</em><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/rampart-news/"><em> ⁠LinkedIn⁠</em></a><em>,</em><a href="https://www.instagram.com/rampart.news"><em> ⁠Instagram⁠</em></a><em>,</em><a href="https://x.com/rampart_news"><em> ⁠X⁠</em></a><em>,</em><a href="https://www.youtube.com/@rampart-news"><em> ⁠YouTube⁠</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><br></p><p><em>Rampart Talks</em></p><p><strong>Producer</strong>: Eliza Harvey</p><p><strong>Production/Editing</strong>: Mentored Studios </p><p><strong>Commercial support</strong>: Squiz Media</p><p><br></p>