As Australia's largest telecommunication firm is looking forward for global growth, Telstra added to its lineup of executives former CEO's Stephen Elop of Nokia and Kevin Russell of Optus. The two personalities were hired by Telstra after a sudden collapse last month in mobile subscriber growth.
Telstra hires Nokia's former CEO Stephen Elop and Optus former head of Optus. Stephen Elop will be accountable for the company's move to become a "world-class technology company" and will give details to CEO Andrew Penn. Kevin Russell will take the position of an executive retail, Bloomberg reports.
"Stephen will immediately add major firepower to our team with his extensive and deep technology experience and an innate sense of customer expectations," Penn said in the statement.
In 2014, Russell exited Optus which is the Australian unit of Singapore Telecommunications Ltd.
Andy Penn's restructuring of Telstra's senior executive team has been an important change in the company's leadership since he succeeded David Thodey last year as chief executive. Hiring Elop and Russell will be a big factor on the company's global growth.
Russell is notable in this market who launched the "3" Hutchison brand in the early 2000s. After being a Hutchison Three CEO in UK, he later became country chief officer and Singtel Optus CEO Consumer between 2012 and 2014. What is most interesting during his term at that time was avoiding a simple focus on top-line and user numbers rise for a greater degree of focus on profitability, as reported by The Australian.
He also actuates lower cost and implements higher customer satisfaction while endowing heavily in the Optus network to lessen the network thrust and quality advantage Telstra has held.
He will be heading the consumer, business and retail and product functions this coming April. He had run the Hutchison Telecoms Australia and held senior positions in Israel and UK, according to Sydney Morning Herald.
With the hiring and appointment of the two former executives, Telstra is looking toward a progressive global growth. It signals the company's goal to become a total technology company.
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