Former Brennan IT CEO Stephen Sims jumps to NBN Co

Former Brennan IT chief executive Stephen Sims has joined NBN Co to lead its channel expansion plans.

In a LinkedIn post, Sims said he joined NBN Co to lead its “channel expansion into the business market”.

CRN understands that Sims will assume the role of general manager of channel expansion, which is a slight pivot from Keith Masterton’s former role as channel chief. Masterton left NBN Co in October and has since joined TasmaNet.

Sims is expected to lead the future direction of NBN Co’s current partner program to streamline the process with resellers and retail service providers (RSPs), following the consolidation of the residential and business functions. He is also responsible for expanding the retail business services market, including RSPs, IT integrators and suppliers, to leverage business-grade NBN to develop solutions for business customers.

The announcement comes two days after Brennan IT revealed Sims’ departure after 14 years with the company and five years as CEO. Founder and COO Dave Stevens has stepped up in his departure as managing director.

“After 14 wonderful years at Brennan IT, I am excited to announce that from Jan 2021, I will be joining nbn to lead their channel expansion into the business market,” Sims’ LinkedIn post read.

“While part of me is sad to say goodbye to the amazing team at Brennan IT, my overriding emotion is excitement, and I can’t wait to get started.”

Sims said his decision to join NBN Co was for three reasons - for making a difference, the culture and people and the start of a new journey.

“I have always been passionate about helping Australian small and medium businesses and in this role, I will be helping them fast track their service and digital transformation,” he said.

“[NBN Co’s] purpose is to lift the digital capability of Australia and I believe that a combination of premium-grade business connectivity combined with the latest cloud services, management tools and expertise, can really make a difference to the innovation, productivity and growth of Australian businesses.”

Sims added the company is aiming to become a “Great place to work” and that “it appears they are already there”.

“While [NBN Co] has already been a great success in the residential market, providing high speed broadband to the majority of Australians, there is still a huge opportunity to provide affordable, high speed broadband to every Australian business,” Sims said.

“The [NBN Co] business channel strategy seeks to expand the business services market, including internet retailers and IT integrators, to leverage business-grade NBN to create meaningful solutions for Australian businesses.”