Velocity Chief Nick Rohrlach departs in management shakeup

[Saab34]

This must have been in the works for some time if they already have an external lined up. He would have worked with Jayne Hrdlicka while she was at Loyalty after Jetstar, so likely where the connection came from.

JH still has one or two C suite jobs at Endeavour she hasn’t replaced yet so I’d be surprised if one of these two didn’t pop up over there.

Either way does highlight the lack of internal talent VA has. They will need to build this up over time if they want to be successful.

 

[jase05]

None of that seems to address the point about VA lounge overcrowding though, which is what was being questioned

I would think the number of AMEX folk using lounges is very small

 

[PERLHR]

I think the number of non flying visitors are very high!

 

[Steven of Bali]

Which one can now "buy" with a $440 per year Amex.

Which I have. Cannot see the point in remaining Platinum - mind you the changes to SC will probably see me Gold in April. I will miss my free 3A.

 

[MurilloR]

This must have been in the works for some time if they already have an external lined up. He would have worked with Jayne Hrdlicka while she was at Loyalty after Jetstar, so likely where the connection came from.

JH still has one or two C suite jobs at Endeavour she hasn’t replaced yet so I’d be surprised if one of these two didn’t pop up over there.

Either way does highlight the lack of internal talent VA has. They will need to build this up over time if they want to be successful.

This just highlights the lack of an internal talent pipeline at Velocity. If you don't promote from within, you're stuck constantly hunting for external hires. The risk is that the company loses its culture and institutional knowledge because outside managers don't always mesh with the existing processes. Investing in mentorship and training for current staff would go a long way in ensuring stability and long-term growth.

 

[Mattg]

Well I didn’t see this coming. Nick is an energetic and talented guy, and I’m sure he’ll find a good role elsewhere.

I recall hearing incoming Velocity CEO Andrew Cleary as a guest on the Loyalty Podcast a few months ago, talking about hotel loyalty in the context of his current role at Mandarin Oriental, and was quite impressed. He seems to “get it”.

Podcast 81 - Hotel Loyalty

Podcast Episode · Loyalty Wired · 06/10/2025 · 42m

podcasts.apple.com

 

[kpc]

I wonder if this is directly a result of the number of flyers, myself included, who have become disengaged with the Velocity program in light of recent program changes

 

[PaulllM]

I would think the number of AMEX folk using lounges is very small

I would suspect that a fair chunk of people that have that AMEX also have a lounge access level of status.

 

[SCM]

This can only be good?

I hope they get rid of that stupid "X amount of SCs on VA" - whatever that means in relation to QR/VA flights, I'm still not clear.

 

[Saab34]

I wonder if this is directly a result of the number of flyers, myself included, who have become disengaged with the Velocity program in light of recent program changes

5 years in Management is often the norm before someone departs for the next thing. They might have just committed to 5 years also.

Often seen with CEO handovers, don’t forget Nick missed out on the CEO job. This has probably been in the works since Jayne Hrdlicka left considering who they have already headhunted. The other one who missed out on the CEO job (Paul Jones) will probably hang around as he was shot down by the unions, will never be able to lead an airline here it seems so will just stay put in commercial.

They do need to start working on succession planning, if Dave Emerson does 5-10 years, then who is next? They would need to hire an external which I think is not a great move. I’ve never worked with an external CEO in near 20 years in corporate that has been successful.

 

[MH_fan]

Thinning out the elites is one thing but it would make no difference really when SG and WPs can use the lounge. The majority of elites losing status will be the ones dropping to SG from WP. Giving unlimited access to Amex holders (no guests, of course) whilst saying they want to make the lounges less crowded is disingenuous. I think they should have followed QF's decision to stop access for non-flying guests. It has made a difference to the crowding in their lounges. No one can really criticise that as it's actually fair and reasonable that people using the lounges are the ones who are actually flying!
Any changes in the Velocity programme should be to encourage flying with VA and not do the opposite.