Australian Shareholders’ Association to vote against Qantas CEO’s nomination as director

(Reuters) – The Australian Shareholders’ Association will vote against the nomination of Qantas Chief Executive Officer Vanessa Hudson (NYSE:) as a director in the company, it said on Thursday.

Hudson, who used to be the chief financial officer at the national carrier, was appointed as its first-ever female CEO in May this year, taking over from Alan Joyce.

The carrier is dealing with multiple legal and regulatory actions, which led to the resignation of Joyce and chairman Richard Goyder.

Qantas is set to hold its annual general meeting on Nov. 3.

“Given Vanessa Hudson has been a member of the executive while the issues… have been allowed to occur, we think this resolution should be voted against until she has proven herself in the role,” the shareholders’ association said in a statement.

The association intends to vote for the nomination of Doug Parker, the former CEO of American Airlines (NASDAQ:), as a director.

Qantas did not immediately respond to a Reuters’ request for comment outside business hours.

Shares of the national carrier are down around 21% on a year-to-date basis. It fell about 2.5% on Thursday.