Melinda Stewart is Executive Manager, Group People Services at Qantas Airways, where she leads a team of approximately 200 people delivering end-to-end HR operations across the Qantas Group. Her remit spans talent acquisition, payroll, benefits administration, HR technology, employee contact centre, reporting and analytics, uniform management, and employment compliance and investigations — functions that underpin the people experience for one of Australia's most iconic and complex organisations.
With over 25 years of experience in human resources and operations leadership, Melinda brings a rare combination of analytical rigour and strategic people leadership, shaped by a career that began as a Chemical Engineer. Prior to joining Qantas, she served as Chief People Officer, Australia at Lendlease and as Global Head of HR Operations at Macquarie Group, where she led a team of 120 people delivering HR services to 18,000 employees across 33 countries.
Melinda is known for driving large-scale transformation — from global HR shared services builds and major systems implementations to workforce redesign — and for her ability to operate with credibility across executive teams and boards. She holds a Graduate Diploma from the Australian Institute of Company Directors, a Graduate Diploma in Applied Finance and Investments from the Securities Institute of Australia, a Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical) with Honours from the University of Melbourne, and is a member of the Australian Human Resources Institute.
