Source : THE AGE NEWS
Few Australian captains of industry play “hrdball” like Australia’s highest profile female executive – the recently departed Virgin Australia boss Jayne Hrdlicka. Few are as accomplished in the science of networking, the art of the business turnaround, and even fewer are more controversial.
Having accepted a new challenge to revive the fortunes of Endeavour, the company that owns the big box booze barns – Dan Murphy’s, BWS – and a portfolio of 350 pubs, her focus now turns from getting customers onto Virgin’s planes to having them fill bars and/or their trolleys with beer, bourbon and Bordeaux.
Former Virgin Australia chief executive Jayne Hrdlicka faces a formidable challenge in getting Endeavour back on track. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
Hrdlicka was privy to a masterclass in the art of corporate ruthlessness by her former boss at Qantas, Alan Joyce. Credited as being part-architect of the airline’s 2011 decision to ground the airline as part of the nuclear-level move against the company’s unions, Hrdlicka has seemingly learnt her lessons well and certainly proved her chops by resuscitating Virgin Australia.
Hrdlicka’s announcement to move to Virgin’s departure lounge certainly caught most by surprise.
The airline’s Lazarus-like revival from administration appeared to be a textbook restructuring, and its current earnings profile is more positive than it has been for a decade or more.
Despite years of industrial relations education at the feet of Joyce, Hrdlicka also managed to establish a workable relationship with Virgin’s unions. Her tenure handed a magnificent return to Virgin’s owner, Bain, and assuming we escape a Trump-induced global recession, the airline’s prospects look rosy in the short to medium term.
Hrdlicka is considered tough, ruthless, and polarising to her critics and fans alike, so there is little doubt that underperforming Endeavour is in for radical change.
Endeavour, the owner of the Dan Murphy’s and BWS chains, separated from Woolworths in 2021.Credit: Eamon Gallagher
Having worked in the cutthroat world of private equity, reigned over infant formula group A2, run the discount airline Jetstar, and then its mid-tier competitor Virgin while holding court as head of Tennis Australia, Hrdlicka appears as energetic as she is industry-agnostic.
If there is a common thread to her career, it’s the desire to take on a challenge. The other recurring theme is that her career appointments and departures have often been accompanied by question marks, controversies, and a smattering of acrimony.
From baby formula to booze may seem a left-field career move, but Hrdlicka did sit on the board of Woolworths when it owned Dan Murphy’s, BWS and other hospitality assets.
What is surprising, however, is Hrdlicka’s willingness to jump into a potentially tricky assignment at Endeavour.
When Hrdlicka announced her retirement from Virgin, it was touted as her personal decision resulting from overwork, or a lack of commitment or energy to see the company through to its twice-postponed ASX listing.
“This is not a decision I have taken lightly, but the last four years have been heavy lifting across the organisation during the toughest of times,” she told this masthead last year.
Endeavour presents a new challenge for Hrdlicka – restoring the once great brand of Dan Murphy’s and the appeal of the pub portfolio. And she will have to do all of it while retaining the support of Endeavour’s largest and most vocal shareholder, billionaire Bruce Mathieson, and his son, Bruce junior.
Team Mathieson, along with other like-minded shareholders, was instrumental in dethroning Endeavour’s former chairman, Peter Hearl, with the company’s chief executive, Steve Donohue, leaving the business soon after.
Mathieson’s influence and his desire to shape the future of Endeavour loom large over the business, but Hrdlicka isn’t the sort to sit on the sidelines. Self-doubt isn’t a word you associate with her.
After all, here is an executive who endured a chorus of booing while addressing crowds following Novak Djokovic’s win in the men’s singles final at Melbourne Park after mentioning COVID vaccines, without breaking a sweat and with her coiffed hair intact.
Dan Murphy’s owner needs a turnaround queen and a heavy hitter. Hrdlicka is the real deal on both counts.
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