NBN Co CEO Stephen Rue to lead Optus

NBN Co is losing its CEO of almost six years Stephen Rue to Optus as the telco looks to “reset strategy and rebuild customer trust”.

Having joined NBN Co as chief financial officer in 2014, Rue led steered NBN Co through the completion of its rollout, and from build to operate stages.

Rue will officially take over the Optus CEO role in November, which has been overseen in the interim by Michael Venter.

Optus chairman Paul O’Sullivan said Rue’s appointment followed a “rigorous process that involved a slate of high-quality candidates”.

“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," O'Sullivan said.

"We expect Stephen’s operational and financial background to lift service standards significantly for the benefit of our customers.”

Rue’s appointment follows former CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin’s resignation in November after the carrier’s extended November 8 outage and the 2022 cyber attack that led to the exposure of millions of customers’ personal data.

Following her departure, Optus’ parent company Singtel announced that it has recruited Peter Kaliaropoulos to fill the newly-created role of chief operating officer (COO), reporting to Venter.

Rue’s appointment coincides with the introduction of Singtel’s decentralisation restructure, which was announced in 2022.

The change means Rue will report to the telco's Australian subsidiary board and chairman instead of Singtel itself.

Speaking about the appointment, Rue said in a statement: “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."

NBN Co will appoint chief financial officer Philip Knox to the role of interim CEO "in due course, until a new CEO is appointed".

"As a result of this announcement, Rue will also be resigning from his position as an executive director on the NBN Co board," NBN Co said.

"The board is committed to a smooth transition."