Australia: Australian telecom giant Optus Chief Executive Officer, Ms. Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, has resigned after a telco outage that impacted 10 million people.
Ms. Rosmarin faced pressure to step down after leading the company through a turbulent three years. Along with the network outage that cut out nearly half of Australia, Ms. Rosmarin was at the helm during a major data breach last year.
In a statement, Ms. Rosmarin stated that, “Having now had time for some personal reflection, I have come to the decision that my resignation is in the best interest of Optus moving forward.”
Ms. Rosmarin will be replaced by the Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Michael Venter, while it seeks a permanent replacement.
Mr. Yuen Kuan Moon, the Chief Executive of Optus’s Singaporean parent company remarked that the outgoing Optus Chief had led the company through a “challenging period” including the COVID-19 pandemic, managing to improve the company’s financial performance.
“We recognise the need for Optus to regain customer trust and confidence. Optus’ priority is about setting on a path of renewal for the benefit of the community and customers,” Mr. Moon commented.
The outage on November 8 left 10 million Australians and thousands of businesses without mobile or internet coverage for over 12 hours. The failure resulted in transport delays, disconnected hospital phone lines, stopped payment systems, and blocked over 200 people from contacting emergency services.
Ms. Rosmarin has faced criticism over her response to the incident, including at a Senate hearing. The former CEO revealed that thousands of Australians sought compensation from the telecom.
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