Singapore Telecommunications (Singtel) subsidiary Optus announced, on May 6, that it has appointed Stephen Rue as CEO. Rue’s appointment, which will take effect from November, comes after an “extensive internal, external and international” search.
Rue is currently the CEO of Australia’s National Broadband Network (NBN). He joined NBN as its chief financial officer (CFO) in 2014 and became its CEO in 2018. During his time at NBN, Rue led Australia’s broadband rollout to completion. The move connected over eight million Australian homes and businesses with fast and secure broadband access. Rue also helped Australians to work from home (WFH) leveraging the NBN during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Stephen was chosen after a rigorous process that involved a slate of high-quality candidates. We’re extremely pleased to have someone of his calibre to lead the next chapter at Optus,” says Optus chairman Paul O’Sullivan.
“His experience in setting up the digital backbone of Australia will serve us well as we reinvigorate Optus as Australia’s leading challenger telecommunications brand. We expect Stephen’s operational and financial background to lift service standards significantly for the benefit of our customers,” he adds.
“I’m honoured and excited to be given the opportunity to lead Optus,” says Rue. “Optus’ continuous investments in critical infrastructure through the years has resulted in an extensive 5G network that is being strengthened in regional Australia. My job will be to take care of Optus’ customers, people and business and to provide strong competition and choice.”
“I look forward to accelerating the transformation at Optus so fellow Australians continue to have the choice of a strong alternative telecoms provider and the country as a whole can harness the power of digital connectivity to drive economic participation and social inclusion,” he adds.
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In the meantime, Michael Venter will continue as Optus’ interim CEO, a role he has held since Nov 20, 2023. Former CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin tendered her resignation on the same day after Optus suffered from a nationwide outage on Nov 8, 2023.
Rue’s appointment comes under Singtel’s new governance model, which was first introduced in 2022. The move was done in a bid to adopt a decentralised operating company-driven structure to empower Singtel’s businesses and leverage commercial synergies.
When he joins the company, he will join Optus’ board and report to its chairman.
Singtel group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon says the group is “extremely excited” to have Rue on board with his “deep understanding of the industry and strong operational experience”.
“In today’s uncertain economic environment, businesses need greater independence and agility to better navigate the market and we believe the new governance model will set the Optus management up for success,” he adds.
Shares in Singtel closed at $2.38 on May 3.
