Telstra unveils major management shake-up

A major Telstra makeover of top management will oust several bosses and see ex-SBS boss Michael Ebeid joining the telco.

Former SBS boss Michael Ebeid will run Telstra’s enterprise team. Pic: Kym Smith

Telstra has announced a major makeover of its senior management, with current chief financial officer Warwick Bray, the telco’s technology lead, Stephen Elop and the head of Telstra’s media unit, Joe Pollard, all shown the door.

The head of Telstra wholesale business Will Irving is the fourth casualty of a restructure that will see former SBS boss Michael Ebeid join the telco.

The reboot, revealed by The Australian last Friday is the first wave of job cuts promised under Telstra’s strategic overhaul announced in June.

Telstra shares were up 1.1 per cent in early trade to $2.79.

The telco (TLS) has also found a replacement for its outgoing networks boss Mike Wright, who announced his retirement earlier this month, with the former executive VP of networks of Indian telco Reliance Jio coming on board.

Telstra boss Andrew Penn said the changes, effective from October 1, 2018, were an important step in delivering its Telstra 2022 (T22) strategy.

“The changes I am announcing today will ensure we continue to deliver market leading innovation in networks and support the build out of 5G and internet of Things.

“Ultimately the simplified and streamlined structure will remove duplication, hierarchy and silos across the organisation. It will help us improve the service that we provide to our customers, the efficiency of the business and our competitiveness, as well as increase our productivity and reduce costs,” Mr Penn said in a statement.

He added that Telstra has also hired a group executive for the newly formed “product and technology” role but declined to formally name the hire.

“I am excited to be announcing three significant external hires today. Both Michael Ebeid and Nikos Katinakis bring with them significant experience across a range of industries, including telecommunications, and will be instrumental in Telstra’s transformation.

“We will announce the identity of our new head of product and technology shortly,” Mr Penn said.

In other changes, Brendon Riley will become the CEO of Telstra InfraCo, David Burns will lead Global Business Services and Robyn Denholm will move to the role of chief financial officer and head of strategy.

The incumbent telco, which has forecast its fiscal 2019 earnings to fall between $8.7 billion and $9.4bn, is under intense pressure to stabilise its business, with its shares hovering near a seven-year low of $2.76.

With the National Broadband Network (NBN) denting its books to the tune of $3bn annually and the entry of TPG Telecom likely to put pressure on mobile margins, Telstra is betting on its new strategic road map to arrest the ongoing decline in value.

Under Mr Penn’s tenure, which started in May 2015, Telstra has lost over $40 billion in market value and the last couple of years has also seen the telco’s networks succumb to high profile service outages.

More to come