Airline Virgin Australia has appointed leading business woman Elizabeth Bryan as its first ever female chairman.
Ms Bryan is also the chairman at Caltex Australia, but is not currently on Virgin's board.
She replaces the long-serving Neil Chatfield, who has been chairman since June 2007 and announced last October he would step down in 2015 once a replacement was found.
Ms Bryan's previous roles include chief executive of Deutsche Asset Management Australia and chairman of UniSuper.
She is also currently a director of Westpac and Insurance Australia Group.
In accepting the appointment, Ms Bryan said Virgin had transformed the aviation industry.
"I look forward to working with the board to continue to grow the business and enhance the return for shareholders, customers and employees," Ms Bryan said.
Women's Leadership Institute Australia, a group representing women on boards, welcomed the appointment.
"Elizabeth Bryan is a very distinguished board director and chair," the group's executive director Amy Mullins said.
"It's very important to have women on boards but more specifically women in chair roles, because it certainly provides role models for other women in business."
However, Ms Mullins noted there was a long way to go to achieving gender equality in the nation's boardrooms.
Ms Bryan will join independent non-executive director, Samantha Mostyn, as the only other woman on the Virgin Australia board.
Her selection comes as Australia's second-largest airline continues to benefit from a truce in its battle with Qantas for domestic market share.
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