Telstra chair Catherine Livingstone to retire

Telstra chairwomen Catherine Livingstone will retire from the board of directors after seven years in the position.

Livingstone joined the board of directors in 2000 and was appointed as chairperson in 2009.

She will be replaced by John Mullen, chief executive and managing director of freight logistics company Asciano. Mullen joined Telstra in 2008 as a non-executive director and is the current chairman of the remuneration committee.

Livingstone said the time was right to step down and enable a new chair to drive Telstra's growth.

“It has been an extraordinary period of my life to have been part of the team which helped Telstra set a new direction after having transitioned from a corporatised then privatised organisation,” Livingstone said.

“We are now able to consider new growth opportunities alongside our traditional core businesses, looking to extend our footprint in ways that are consistent with creating long-term shareholder value."

Livingstone will hand the reigns to Mullen over the coming months.