Optus appoints NBN boss Stephen Rue as CEO

Optus has appointed NBN CEO Stephen Rue as its new chief executive.

Interim CEO Michael Venter will continue in his role until November 2024, when Rue will take over.

He replaces former CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, who resigned in November 2023 following criticism of how she handled Optus' November 8 national network outage and a 2022 cyberattack.  

Rue joined NBN in 2014 as CFO before becoming CEO in 2018, during which time he led the company's broadband rollout. 

“I’m honoured and excited to be given the opportunity to lead Optus, a company that has strived to serve Australians for over two decades," Rue said.

"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.” 

Optus chairman Paul O’Sullivan said Rue "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. 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.”   

Rue's appointment comes as Optus has introduced a new governance model to adopt a decentralised operating company-driven structure that it says aims "to empower its businesses and leverage commercial synergies and capabilities to drive growth."

Moving forward, the Optus CEO and executives will report to the Optus board and Rue will join the board and report to the chairman.

Optus said the board and executives "will work together to reset strategy and rebuild customer trust in the Optus brand."

Members of the board include chair Paul O’Sullivan, Yuen Kuan Moon, John Arthur, Lim Cheng Cheng and Venter.

“Optus has been part of the Singtel stable for two decades and remains a strategic long-term commitment," said Singtel group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon.

"We are extremely excited to have Stephen, with his deep understanding of the industry and strong operational experience to take Optus forward."

"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 and help Optus restore and cement its position as a leading player in the Australian telecommunications market.” 

Last week, Optus signed an 11-year network sharing agreement with TPG Telecom that the company expects to generate $1.6 million in service fees.