Bold headline: Virgin Australia elevates loyalty and customer focus with a unified leadership move that knots Velocity and the airline experience together. But here’s where it gets controversial: will this one-vision approach truly accelerate value for flyers, or will it blur lines between strategy and execution?
Virgin Australia is reorganizing its executive team to place customer experience and loyalty under a single leadership umbrella. The company announced that Andrew Cleary will become both Chief Customer Officer and CEO of Velocity Frequent Flyer, effective March 23, 2026. This consolidation is intended to align Virgin Australia’s flight experience with Velocity’s loyalty program, speeding up customer-facing initiatives across both brands.
CEO and Managing Director Dave Emerson explained that the transformation follows Virgin Australia’s IPO and the Qatar Airways partnership integration. By bringing together customer experience, marketing, and Velocity under unified leadership, the airline aims to make decisions faster, unify customer data and insights, and extract greater value from its loyalty ecosystem. This is meant to streamline journeys and improve commercial performance as the company continues its broader transformation.
Cleary joins Virgin Australia from Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong, where he led global customer experience, loyalty, and data initiatives. He previously spent more than seven years at Qantas in senior roles focused on loyalty transformation, alliance partnerships, and investor relations. “I am honored to join Virgin Australia’s leadership team during this exciting growth phase,” Cleary said. “Bringing customer experience and loyalty together signals a clear commitment to placing the end customer at the forefront of everything Virgin Australia does. In this next growth chapter, there is a tremendous opportunity to deepen loyalty among flyers, pursue new strategic partnerships, and unlock the commercial potential of Velocity Frequent Flyer.” Emerson added that Cleary’s deep industry knowledge will sharpen the airline’s customer focus, simplify travel journeys, and enhance the Velocity program.
Cleary succeeds Nick Rohrlach, who will depart on April 30, 2026 to focus on family. Rohrlach joined Virgin Australia in 2021 and helped strengthen Velocity into one of Australia’s largest loyalty programs. Under his leadership, Velocity expanded to more than 80 partners and introduced Pay with Points, Platinum Plus, and Forever Gold. Rohrlach also oversaw the Virgin Australia Regional Airlines business, including the introduction of Embraer E190-E2 aircraft in Western Australia’s charter market.
Alistair Hartley, the current Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer, will also step down on April 30, 2026. Under Hartley’s guidance, the program delivered over $700 million in gross benefits for financial years 2024 and 2025 and supported the airline’s June 2025 IPO. Virgin confirmed that the Strategy and Transformation team will report directly to the CEO from April 30, 2026, ensuring tight alignment with ongoing cost and revenue optimization efforts. Emerson emphasized that direct CEO leadership will keep these initiatives strategically focused and integrated with commercial and operational plans.
The company thanked Rohrlach and Hartley for navigating the airline through the challenging post-pandemic period and for shaping the culture and performance of Virgin Australia’s teams.
Earlier this month, Virgin Australia announced carry-on changes intended to streamline boarding and improve passenger comfort, including updated cabin baggage rules for Economy passengers. More details are available through Virgin Australia’s site and industry coverage.
KARRYON UNPACKS: One leader, one customer strategy. For travel advisors, greater alignment between Virgin and Velocity could translate into sharper offers, faster innovation, and a clearer value proposition for clients.
