Qantas has named former Telstra chairman John Mullen as the next leader of its board as the airline continues its leadership changes.

Mr Mullen will join Qantas as chairman elect on July 1 and takeover the role once Richard Goyder retires prior to the annual general meeting in October.

Mr Mullen was chairman of Telstra for seven years and serves the same role for pallets and containers provider Brambles as well as Treasury Wine Estates.

He will make changes to his roles to accommodate Qantas.

“I am conscious of the time commitment that this prestigious role requires and will be adjusting my other professional obligations to ensure that I can be fully focused on this exciting challenge,” he said.

Mr Mullen has had plenty of experience leading transport and logistics providers including roles at DHL, Macquarie Airports and TNT.   

In the same announcement, Qantas said Nora Scheinkestel will join the board from 1 March as a non-executive director. Ms Scheinkestel is on the board of Brambles, Origin Energy and Westpac. 

Qantas is due to provide its first-half earnings on Thursday.

Mr Mullen and chief executive Vanessa Hudson will give Qantas a fresh leadership team after Ms Hudson’s predecessor Alan Joyce departed last year.   

This post was originally published on Michael West.