CEO of Singtel's Optus Resigns After Australian Network Outage — Update

By Stuart Condie

SYDNEY--The chief executive of Optus, the Australian subsidiary of Singapore Telecommunications, resigned following a network outage in which millions of customers including hospitals and government departments lost services for several hours.

Singtel on Monday said that Kelly Bayer Rosmarin would be replaced on an interim basis by the company's chief financial officer, Michael Venter. Former Optus business MD Peter Kaliaropoulos will take up the new role of chief operating officer, it added.

Singtel, which said Optus would conduct a global search for a permanent CEO, announced Bayer Rosmarin's resignation three days after she appeared before Australian lawmakers investigating the Nov. 8 outage and Optus's response to it. On Friday, the lawmakers had criticized Optus for its incident planning and asked Bayer Rosmarin if she planned to quit.

"Having now had time for some personal reflection, I have come to the decision that my resignation is in the best interest of Optus moving forward," Bayer Rosmarin said Monday.

Singtel Chief Executive Yuen Kuan Moon said the group recognized that Optus, which told the lawmakers' inquiry that there was no precedent for widespread compensation over an outage that hobbled small businesses for hours, to rebuild customer trust.

"Optus's priority is about setting on a path of renewal for the benefit of the community and customers," Yuen said.

The outage, which resulted in 228 calls to emergency services not being connected, stemmed from Optus systems' response to a software upgrade at its parent company.

Bayer Rosmarin took charge of Australia's second-largest mobile operator in April 2020. She delivered improved financial performance and increased market share, Singtel said Monday.

She also presided over a 2022 data breach in which customer details were stolen, prompting a continuing investigation by Australia's communications regulator and a class action in the country's federal court.

After the incident, Optus set aside 140 million Australian dollars (US$91.2 million) for costs, including replacing passports for affected customers.

Optus--which had 10.4 million mobile customers at March 31, according to Singtel's most recent annual report--took days to notify some customers that their details were among those stolen, prompting criticism including from lawmakers and customers.

On Friday, lawmakers suggested that Optus's response to the outage indicated that it hadn't improved its communications with customers since the earlier incident. Optus issued its first statement acknowledging the outage more than two hours after it began.

Write to Stuart Condie at stuart.condie@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 19, 2023 19:55 ET (00:55 GMT)

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