Optus chief executive Kelly Bayer Rosmarin has resigned from the besieged telco after the massive network outage left more than 10 million Australians with no coverage.
Bayer Rosmarin’s resignation comes just days after the Senate committee hearing on the network outage which left people unable to even dial triple-0.
The outage was the second major brand disaster for the Optus brand following last year’s cyber attack which resulted in 2.1 million customers having personal data stolen.
Bayer Rosmarin, who has been in the role since April 2020, was widely criticised for her handling of the two events, specifically for the lack of communications and transparency around the issues.
Optus has appointed chief financial officer Michael Venter as an interim CEO until an official replacement is announced.
Her resignation comes just days before the arrival of former Optus business managing director Peter Kaliaropoulos who assumes the newly created role of chief operating officer.
According to reports in The Australian, Kaliaropoulos’ appointment is part of a “broader shakeup” by Optus parent company Singtel.
Optus’ brand value dropped to $3.3bn on the Brand Finance valuation following the cyber attack. The valuation revealed the brand’s coverage of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the Matildas’ record-breaking journey was a huge factor in its recovery.
The brand also suffered huge reputational damage in 2018 when its much-lauded coverage of the FIFAWorld Cup on the Optus Sport platform continuously failed to cope with the demand. Optus was left with no choice but to give all its exclusive matches to SBS to ensure viewers had access to the coverage.