In the aftermath of the recent triple-zero service disruption, Optus announced the departure of two key executives. This decision follows the telco’s struggle with a significant outage that impacted emergency call services last month.
Optus confirmed today that Michael Venter, the company’s chief financial officer and board member who previously served as interim CEO, along with chief information officer Mark Potter, will both step down from their roles early next year.
To fill these critical positions, the company has appointed new leaders. Andy Giles Knopp, currently the CFO at Aussie Broadband and originally from the UK, will succeed Venter. Meanwhile, John McInerney, the CIO and head of transformation at One New Zealand, will take over Potter’s responsibilities.
Optus stated that Potter’s departure was planned as he feels that next year presents the “right time for him to leave,” following his efforts to lay down robust technology foundations for the company’s long-term transformation strategy.
This announcement comes just over a month after a 13-hour outage that left over 600 emergency calls unable to connect due to a failed network upgrade. The incident has been linked to three fatalities.
Three deaths have been been linked to the outage.
The company, which is Australia’s second-largest telecommunications provider behind Telstra, has faced widespread criticism for its handling of the outage, including from government officials who said Optus’ notification of the issue wasn’t sent to the correct email address.
It will face a Senate inquiry over the outage next week.
Optus made no mention of the triple-zero failure in announcing Venter and Potter’s departures.
“Michael has decided to retire from executive life to pursue a portfolio career, and I wish to thank him for his significant contribution to Optus over the past four years, including the time he spent as interim CEO before I joined the company,” chief executive Stephen Rue said of Venter.
“We are delighted to welcome Andy Giles Knopp next year, whose leadership and financial experience will be instrumental as we continue to focus the company on our core business of connectivity, and accelerate our transformation plans with urgency and accuracy.”
In regard to Potter, Rue said the decision came after “long-term and open discussions”.
“I wish him all the best with his next chapter,” he added.
“Incoming CIO John McInerney brings a wealth of experience and a proven ability to lead complex transformation programs.Â
“I look forward to working with him as we work to evolve our IT capabilities to better serve our customers.”
Both Venter and Potter will leave Optus in March next year.
Giles Knopp will join the month after, while McInerney will start in November.
