Shadow foreign minister Simon Birmingham has backed his former Liberal state colleague Gladys Berejiklian for the Optus chief executive position as the company seeks to fill the role vacated by Kelly Bayer Rosmarin’s resignation.
Ms Bayer Rosmarin resigned on Monday, days after dodging questions on her future at a Senate inquiry into the telco’s mass November 8 outage which left 10 million users without data or internet for about 14 hours.
The telco’s parent company Singtel has since launched a global search for her replacement but Optus’ Enterprise and Business Managing Director Ms Berejiklian has appeared to be a strong contender as reports emerged she was interested in the gig.
Mr Birmingham threw his support behind the former state Liberal leader but noted it would be a matter for Optus and Singtel.
“I’m sure Optus customers want to make sure that Optus has great leadership and Gladys is a dear friend and a fabulous leader,” he told ABC RN Breakfast on Tuesday.
Greens Senator and Chair of the Senate inquiry into the outage, Sarah Hanson-Young, however, appeared to take a swipe at Ms Berejiklian.
“I know Gladys has got some other things she needs to clear off her plate yet, doesn’t she?,” she told ABC News Breakfast on Tuesday.
“I think the main thing here is to ensure whoever takes over is actually someone who is trustworthy, has integrity, and is able to work with government because we need to overhaul these regulations.”
Ms Berejiklian dramatically resigned as New South Wales premier and Willoughby MP in 2021 after the state’s Independent Commission Against Corruption launched an investigation into allegations against her.
The corruption watchdog this year found she engaged in serious corrupt conduct with former Wagga Wagga MP and ex-partner Daryl Maguire. Ms Berejiklian has since launched legal action against the ICAC to appeal the decision.
The former Liberal leader has kept tightlipped on her future plans after ignoring a barrage of questions from reporters on whether she was interested in the Optus role this week.
Ms Bayer Rosmarin quit on Monday after more than three years as Optus chief following the telco’s second publicity disaster on her watch.
Optus was largely criticised for its response after a cyber attack in 2022 and came under fire again for its conduct during the nationwide outage.
“On Friday I had the opportunity to appear before the Senate to expand on the cause of the network outage and how Optus recovered and responded,” Ms Bayer Rosmarin said in a statement on Monday.
“I was also able to communicate Optus’ commitment to restore trust and continue to serve customers. 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.”
Singtel Group Chief Executive Yuen Kuan Moon said its board recognised the need for Optus to “regain customer trust and confidence” in the fallout from the latest outage and ensured the telco was on a “path of renewal”.
“We view the events in recent weeks very seriously. We fully recognise the importance of Optus’ role in providing connectivity services to the community and the importance of network resiliency and security,” he said in the same statement.
Whoever assumes the role will work to repair reputational damage through a Senate inquiry, a federal government “post-incident review” and an Australian Communications and Media Authority review.
In the meantime, Chief Financial Officer Michael Venter will take over as interim Chief Executive Officer.
Former Optus Business Managing Director Peter Kaliaropoulos will also rejoin the telco as Chief Operating Officer.
