QANTAS has announced the sudden departure of its chief financial officer, Colin Storrie, for ''personal and health reasons'', after 18 months in the role.
The airline said Mr Storrie, 41, would step down from the role on Friday for ''health conditions exacerbated by his workload and related pressures on his family''.
Gareth Evans, a Welshman who is CFO of the Qantas mainline business, will take on Mr Storrie's workload while a search for a permanent CFO is undertaken.
Some fund managers expressed concern about the loss of corporate memory from Qantas over the past two years, which has included the departure of Peter Gregg, John Borghetti and Grant Fenn.
''There is a kind of vacuum there for them. They could do with some corporate memory, even if it means getting someone like [former chief executive Geoff] Dixon back on the board,'' a fund manager said yesterday.
''They really lack that kind of knowledge on their board.''
Qantas shares rose 8¢ to $2.70.
MATT O'SULLIVAN
