Vocus spins out wholesale businesses

Vocus has split its wholesale and enterprise division into two separate business units to capitalise on the opportunities stemming from the Nextgen Networks acquisition in 2016.

The split divides Vocus into four separate operating segments: enterprise and government, wholesale and international, consumer and New Zealand. The company said the new operating structure would allow for "sufficient senior executive focus on the opportunities within these segments".

Vocus acquired fibre network provider Nextgen for $861 million in October 2016, along with its 17,000 km national fibre network. The acquisition also included the Australian Singapore Cable (ASC), a 4600 km submarine cable that connects Australia to Singapore with 40 Tb/s internet. The cable is expected to be completed in mid-2018.

Vocus group chief executive Geoff Horth said that Nextgen and the Australian Singapore Cable acquisition presented significant opportunities across all business segments.

"The opportunities available in Vocus’ domestic wholesale business, combined with our investment in the Australia Singapore Cable, warrants the creation of a dedicated Wholesale and International division and will ensure that we have the focus, products and service proposition to be the provider of choice to customers in this important market," Horth said.

The new wholesale and international division will be led by current enterprise and wholesale chief Michael Simmons, while the enterprise and government segment will be led by consumer chief Scott Carter.

Taking over Carter's previous position is new hire Sandra de Castro, who joins as chief executive – consumer. Prior to joining Vocus, de Castro was general manager of sales and marketing for AGL Energy and also worked as chief marketing officer for National Australia Bank in a digital transformation role.

“We are very pleased to welcome Sandra to the Vocus team," said Horth. "Sandra’s credentials and success in innovation and digital transformation brings invaluable experience to our executive team, and will help to drive the next phase of growth and customer centricity in our consumer division.”