Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin has resigned in a major shake-up for the telecommunications company, just over a week after it was slammed for a national outage.
Bayer Rosmarin said it was an appropriate time to step down.
“It’s been an honour and privilege to lead the team at Optus and to serve our customers,” she said in a statement on Monday.
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“I am proud of the team’s many achievements, and grateful for the support of the Optus team, (parent company Singtel CEO Yuen Kuan) Moon, and the Group.
“I wish everyone and the company every success in the future.”
The news comes just over a week after a national outage left millions of Optus customers without reception or data.
In September 2022, Bayer Rosmarin also oversaw one of the telco’s worst PR disasters amid a massive data breach that affected 10 million Australians and resulted in 10,000 customers’ driver’s licence, Medicare and passport details being stolen and leaked online.
Bayer Rosmarin added she had the opportunity on Friday to appear before the Senate to “expand on the cause of the network outage and how Optus recovered and responded”.
“I was also able to communicate Optus’ commitment to restore trust and continue to serve customers,” she said.
“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.”
Optus owner, Singapore-based Singtel Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon said Bayer Rosmarin demonstrated “leadership, commitment and hard work throughout what has been a challenging period”.
“Kelly has always led with integrity and had all stakeholders’ best interests at heart,” he said.
“We understand her decision and wish her the very best in her future endeavours.”
Moon said Optus chief financial officer Michael Venter will assume the role of interim CEO, as Optus embarks on a “global search” for a new CEO.