A Qantas spokesperson confirmed to Computerworld that Balfour has resigned her position and will leave the company, but did not offer a reason for her departure, saying "that's her business".
As a result, Qantas will be left CIO-less because "at this stage we do not have a replacement [for Balfour]," the spokesperson said.
As reported by Computerworld, Balfour, a 17-year veteran of the company, replaced former IT chief David Burden as CIO in late 2001.
During her tenure, Balfour was a champion of sweeping reforms at the airline, including infrastructure modernization and a shift to outsourcing. She was also a proponent of Qantas' reported move away from proprietary UNIX systems to the open source Linux, a move which is yet to be detailed by the airline.
The financial terms of Balfour's departure have not been disclosed by the company.