Optus appoints NBN chief Stephen Rue as CEO
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The news: Optus has appointed current National Broadband Network (NBN) chief Stephen Rue as its new CEO, as the telco unveiled a new governance model as part of a move to "reset strategy and rebuild customer trust in the Optus brand".
The context: Rue, who will start the role in November, is currently CEO of NBN, which he joined as CFO in 2014 before becoming CEO in 2018. Michael Venter will continue as interim CEO in the meantime, a role he has held since November 2023 after his predecessor Kelly Bayer Rosmarin resigned following Optus' nationwide outage.
Optus said that Rue's appointment coincides with the introduction of a new governance model to adopt a "decentralised operating company-driven structure to empower its businesses and leverage commercial synergies and capabilities to drive growth".
Rue will join the Optus board and report to company chairman Paul O’Sullivan, rather than reporting to the management of parent company Singtel Group. Optus' board and executives will be tasked with resetting strategy and rebuilding customer trust in the Optus brand.
Rue succeeds former CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin who stepped down from the role in November 2023. She led the company through one of the worst outages in the country and one of the worst data breaches.
After fronting a Senate inquiry into the outage she was initially criticised for poor communication and failing to explain its cause to the public.
What they said: On Rue's appointment, O’Sullivan said: “We’re extremely pleased to have someone of his calibre to lead the next chapter at Optus. His experience in setting up the digital backbone of Australia will serve us well as we reinvigorate Optus as Australia’s leading challenger telecommunications brand. We expect Stephen’s operational and financial background to lift service standards significantly for the benefit of our customers".
Singtel Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon said: “We are extremely excited to have Stephen, with his deep understanding of the industry and strong operational experience to take Optus forward. In today’s uncertain economic environment, businesses need greater independence and agility to better navigate the market and we believe the new governance model will set the Optus management up for success and help Optus restore and cement its position as a leading player in the Australian telecommunications market".
Rue said: “My job will be to take care of Optus’ customers, people and business and to provide strong competition and choice. I look forward to accelerating the transformation at Optus so fellow Australians continue to have the choice of a strong alternative telecoms provider and the country as a whole can harness the power of digital connectivity to drive economic participation and social inclusion.”
The source: Optus media release
