Embattled Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin has tendered her resignation just days after a Senate inquiry into the nationwide outage that disconnected more than 10 million Australians on November 8.
“On Friday I had the opportunity to appear before the Senate to expand on the cause of the network outage and how Optus recovered and responded,” Ms Bayer Rosmarin said in a statement.
“I was also able to communicate Optus’ commitment to restore trust and continue to serve customers.
“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.
“It’s been an honour and privilege to lead the team at Optus and to serve our customers.
“I am proud of the team’s many achievements and grateful for the support of the Optus team, Moon, and the Group. I wish everyone and the company every success in the future.”
Ms Bayer Rosmarin was appointed Optus CEO in April 2020 and during her tenure Optus suffered two major incidents – the huge data breach in September 2022 and the recent outage of all the company’s services across Australia.
During the Senate inquiry Ms Beyer Rosmarin was asked point blank whether she would resign but she dodged the question saying that the inquiry wasn’t about her.
This was despite the fact the Australian Financial Review published a news report that she was considering stepping down on the same morning when she was due to appear before the Senate inquiry.
Singtel Group CEO Yuen Kuan Moon said: “Optus appointed Kelly at the beginning of the pandemic and we acknowledge her leadership, commitment and hard work throughout what has been a challenging period and thank her for her dedication and service to Optus.”
“Kelly has always led with integrity and had all stakeholders’ best interests at heart. We understand her decision and wish her the very best in her future endeavours.”
On Ms Bayer Rosmarin’s watch as CEO, the company was plunged into two of the biggest crises in the company’s history – a catastrophic data breach in September 2022 and this latest outage in early November which saw Optus customers cut off from landline, mobile phone and internet services.
After both incidents, Ms Beyer Rosmarin was heavily criticised for how she handled the situations and for not communicating with customers and the media in a timely manner.
Michael Venter, Optus Chief Financial Officer, has been appointed interim CEO until a global search for a new CEO is completed.