Lonely days in C-suite at Optus; Armitage’s cut-price mansion

Do you want to leave Optus? Well the answer might be right in front of us. Picture: Gaye Gerard

Being made the boss should be a career triumph, but the bloke left holding the baby at dysfunctional number two telco Optus, interim boss Michael Venter, might be starting to wonder what he’s got himself into.

Venter, previously (and still) the Optus CFO, took over the top office following the exit of CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin after she fell on her sword last year following the disastrous cyber hacking affair.

We already know how star recruit crisis manager Danielle Keighery, who was set to join the Optus leadership team next Monday in a beefed up role running marketing and corporate affairs, has just been convinced by Qantas boss Vanessa Hudson to instead take up a similar role at the troubled airline.

Keighery, previously at Crown Resorts, Bank of Queensland and Virgin Australia, had even been up to Singapore to meet the board and executive of Optus’s owner SingTel ahead of starting.

Optus’ interim chief executive, Michael Venter

Danielle Keighery is heading to Qantas rather than Optus. Picture: Britta Campion

Then on Wednesday, long-time Optus spinner Sally Oelerich exited the business after more than seven years there, culminating in her role as senior director corporate affairs.

That leaves the telco’s vice president of regulatory and public affairs Andrew Sheridan back in charge, who was to report to Keighery.

“Sally’s commitment, determination and enthusiasm was evident in all her dealings for Optus, and we thank her for her contributions,” Sheridan told Margin Call.

“While we are sad to hear of Sally’s decision to leave Optus, we wish her all the best for the future.”

Oelerich, who in recent times had her own moments of horror including a train wreck interview on 2GB amid the Optus hacking scandal, didn’t respond to calls for comment. Her email of farewell to her “colleagues, friends” on her last day was succinct.

“Thanks for all that you have done for me and I look forward to crossing paths with you again,” she wrote, signing off by imploring all to “stay classy” and with an emoji love heart.

Cut-price mansion

Millionaire businessman and investor Howard Armitage might have been guilty of a little irrational exuberance in his pre-Christmas effort to flog a prime piece of Melbourne real estate on Toorak’s prestigious St Georges Road.

Armitage had created much hype around the Yarra River site, on which he received approval from Stonnington Council in the middle of last year to build a multi-level contemporary home stepping down to the water and to mimic a super yacht.

The mega mansion design was the work of celebrity architect Rob Mills, to sit on the site that Armitage had bought in 2017 for just over $6m.

But a change of heart saw the businessman, who already lives in a contemporary abode further down the hill, put the whole show up for sale seeking up to $11.5m in a process that ended in mid-December.

Alas, no deal, with the existing home now relaunched on to the market seeking a lesser $9.75m.

What a difference a month can make.

The price tag, however, comes with neighbours who already call the winding, leafy boulevard home, including property developer Harry Stamoulis in the $70m mansion he built on the site of the old Baillieu family estate.

Crown Resorts boss Ciaran Carruthers last year bought a home there, nearby to millionaire businessman and Liberal Party powerbroker Andrew Abercrombie, while cyrpto casino founder and gaming software developer Edward Craven also owns a derelict $88m mansion on the strip.

Gone but not forgotten

By looking at Nine Entertainment’s website you’d never know that executive James Chessell had already left the building.

Except the Peter Costello-chaired media empire’s head of publishing is already sending out emails and undertaking work for clients on the dark side with his new colleagues at Ian Smith and Andrew Butcher’s Bespoke Approach.

Online, Chessell remains front and centre as part of Nine boss Mike Sneesby’s team, despite resigning in mid-December, then leaving in mid-January.

He’s already been scrubbed as a director of myriad Nine corporate vehicles, in favour of his replacement Victoria Miles, better known professionally as Tory Maguire, who was named as the new publishing chief in mid-January.

Alas, Maguire is yet to get a guernsey in Sneesby’s leadership line-up, on Nine’s corporate website at least.

All that as Nine remains in the gun over and distracted by a photoshopped image of Victorian state pollie Georgie Purcell featured on Nine News, which Purcell said enhanced the size of her breasts and turned her sweet white dress into a midriff-bearing crop top and skirt.

Nine has apologised for what it said was the “automated” image, but which we hear still required human discretion in its use.

James Chessell has departed Nine’s publishing arm. Picture: Nikki Short

Head of news in Melbourne Hugh Nailon, we hear, has called Purcell to explain and apologise for the whole affair.

Chessell has taken Nine with him as a client to Bespoke. The controversy comes as the federal government considers how it responds to the use of artificial intelligence by the Australian media.

Plenty for Chessell to go on with there.

We note also that Bespoke has just added the under pressure listed gaming group SkyCity Entertainment to its roster as the company deals with regulatory issues on several fronts.

Financial crime watchdog Austrac is suing SkyCity for “serious noncompliance” with anti-money laundering laws at its casino in Adelaide.

Austrac has alleged in court docos that the New Zealand-listed casino group allowed 59 suspicious patrons to churn more than $4bn in dirty cash through its Adelaide gaming rooms. SkyCity is also facing an independent investigation initiated by the South Australian Liquor and Gambling Commission into whether it is suitable to run its Adelaide casino.

Any wonder soon to exit SkyCity boss Michael Ahearne has called in reinforcements in the form of Smith and co.