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Barry Jackson has served as a director on Qudos Bank’s Board for almost seven years. He’s currently Chair of the Board and the Board Governance & Remuneration Committee. He also works as a Captain for Qantas Airways Limited.
Barry shares more about his rewarding achievements as a Board Member, what it’s like being one of our customers, and why he values authenticity in line with the Qudos Bank values.
I was born in Armidale. Mum and Dad had a dairy farm, which they sold when I was 12. I then moved to Toowoomba and joined the Commonwealth Bank in 1979.
I started flying lessons when I was 18. I became a Commercial pilot flying around Western Queensland and then worked for Stanbroke Pastoral company mustering cattle. I then spent three years in Papua New Guinea before joining Qantas in 1987.
Highlights of my career include:
First joined the Qudos Bank Board in 2015 as a Director and have been the Chair on the Audit, Governance and Remuneration, Technology, Payments Review Committee, and Deputy Chair and now Chair.
I love Qudos Bank and the fact we’re a large mutual bank with a dedicated team that really go the extra mile to help our customers. We don’t have shareholders to worry about, so we can work hard to find ways to offer better deals. While we’re in a very competitive market, we constantly look at ways to remain the best contender in the banking industry. I love the fact that a lot of customers have been fiercely loyal to Qudos Bank.
Established in 1959 by fourteen Qantas employees, it’s number one aim was to reward its customers with better deals, or as described by the founders, “a reward for thrift”.
Since I’ve been on the Board, we’ve released a very contemporary application for mobile banking, and we continue to invest in fraud prevention tools, ensuring customers’ money is safe and secure from the ever-changing Cyber security threats that are out in the community.
I also love getting out and meeting our people (now that we can!) and see how everyone is going.
When I joined Qantas Credit Union (now Qudos Bank) it was the default banking institution for Qantas employees at the time.
We had branches around the Jet Base that we could wander into when we were at work, and it was like a family, as we knew each other well.
As we’ve evolved, we’ve been very innovative introducing the first telephone banking service in 1985. I remember keying in member numbers on an old home telephone, which is a far cry from our mobile application today. Qudos Bank has always been there for me to offer a helping hand with a smiling face.
I believe being authentic is the first and most important value looked for by customers. In a fast-paced world, it’s nice to be able to sit down and have a good discussion with your bank. Since the Banking Royal Commission, there has been a focus on trust in the banking industry, so it’s important to be genuine in our interactions since that’s what our customers expect.
I am privileged to be able to lead a group of very talented people both on the Board and at Qudos Bank. It’s exciting to see the changes made available to us by new and evolving technologies.
There is never a meeting where we do not talk about the “what ifs” and it’s a constant challenge to predict and then plan for what happens next.
This is what I enjoy about the role. We must remain relevant and ensure that we bring our customers with us.
