Jayne Hrdlicka: From Virgin Australia CEO to Endeavour Group

<p><em>This is just an excerpt. The full interview with Jayne Hrdlicka is available exclusively for Rampart subscribers - go to rampart.news to watch now.</em></p><p>Former Jetstar and Virgin Australia CEO Jayne Hrdlicka has built a reputation as one of Australia&#39;s toughest corporate operators. Now she&#39;s taking on her biggest challenge yet: turning around the Endeavour Group, the $7 billion pokies and liquor business struggling with declining sales and a 35% share price collapse since demerging from Woolworths.</p><p>This interview with Jayne is a candid conversation about resilience, ambition, and the personal cost of corporate leadership. Topics covered:</p><p><strong>Career moves: </strong>why she&#39;s taking on another brutal turnaround job in her sixties after making a paper fortune at Virgin.</p><p><strong>Corporate leadership</strong>: including what made Alan Joyce such an extraordinary CEO and whether he had changed by the end.</p><p><strong>Virgin Australia&#39;s resurrection: </strong>how she rebuilt an insolvent airline during a pandemic with absolute conviction travel would return, as well as the the irony of Qatar Airways&#39; blocked air rights leading to a better outcome for Virgin (and her opinion on whether Alan Joyce convinced Anthony Albanese to block Qatar&#39;s expansion).</p><p><strong>Gender and leadership: </strong>how language gets weaponised against female CEOs differently than their male counterparts, and why being called &quot;abrasive&quot; and &quot;driven&quot; bothers her more than being compared to Cruella de Vil.</p><p><strong>Personal tragedy: </strong>working under enormous pressure while her husband Jason was dying of cancer, and then losing her beloved father a year later and deciding she couldn&#39;t take Virgin public. She also touches on her father&#39;s extraordinary childhood escaping communist Czechoslovakia at age 16 and how that’s shaped her. </p><p><strong>Tennis and power: </strong>the networking power of prime courtside seats at the Australian Open finals, and what it&#39;s like sitting in the Wimbledon royal box with the Beckhams.</p><p><br></p><p><em>Rampart Talks is brought to you by</em><a href="https://resolveforensic.com.au"><em> ⁠RESOLVE Forensic⁠</em></a><em>,</em><a href="https://bhp.com"><em> ⁠BHP⁠</em></a><em> and</em><a href="https://www.raywhitecommercial.com/"><em> ⁠Ray White Commercial⁠</em></a><em>.</em></p><p><br></p><p><strong>About Joe Aston:</strong></p><p>Joe Aston is one of Australia’s most influential commentators on business, finance and politics.</p><p>For 12 years, he struck fear into the hearts of the nation’s political and corporate leaders, transforming The Australian Financial Review’s Rear Window into the nation’s premier daily column.</p><p>In 2024, he became a best-selling author with the publication of his first book, The Chairman’s Lounge: The Inside Story of How Qantas Sold Us Out.</p><p>And in 2025, he launched<a href="https://rampart.news"> ⁠Rampart⁠</a>, a premium subscription news publication specialising in Australian business and finance. </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><em>: Eliza Harvey</em></p><p><strong>Production/Editing</strong><em>: Mentored Studios </em><br><strong>Technical and commercial support</strong><em>: Squiz Media </em></p>