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\u201cStephen was chosen after a rigorous process that involved a slate of high-quality candidates. We\u2019re extremely pleased to have someone of his calibre to lead the next chapter at Optus,\u201d O\u2019Sullivan said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHis experience in setting up the digital backbone of Australia will serve us well as we reinvigorate Optus as Australia\u2019s leading challenger telecommunications brand. We expect Stephen\u2019s operational and financial background to lift service standards significantly for the benefit of our customers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rue said he was honoured and excited to join Optus after a decade at NBN Co, where has served as CEO since 2018. The executive, who hails from Ireland, was also previously chairman of the Melbourne Storm rugby league club.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rue will take on the role of restoring Optus\u2019 reputation, after widespread frustration from customers and the broader public over last November\u2019s outage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sources close to Optus not authorised to speak publicly said that Optus executive and former NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian, who had been floated as a frontrunner to take the top job, did not put her hand up for the role.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMy job will be to take care of Optus\u2019 customers, people and business and to provide strong competition and choice,\u201d Rue said. \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n
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Former CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin departed late last year after a November outage that affected 10 million Australians<\/a> and crippled the communications networks of small businesses, hospitals and railway lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That 16-hour outage has claimed several top Optus executives, with networks boss Lambo Kanagaratnam departing the company in March<\/a> while long-time Optus corporate and public affairs director Sally Oelerich departed in January. Meanwhile, Danielle Keighery in January ditched Optus<\/a> two weeks before she was set to start as its head of corporate affairs, instead opting to join Qantas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Optus chief financial officer Michael Venter was appointed interim boss on November 20 and will remain as interim CEO until November 2024.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Optus\u2019 parent company Singtel, which is based in Singapore, has also revamped the telco\u2019s governance model, with the Optus CEO and executives reporting to the Optus board, rather than Singtel. The Optus board and executives would \u201cwork together to reset strategy and rebuild customer trust in the Optus brand,\u201d the telco said in a statement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n