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Telstra's next CEO David Thodey says he is excited about his new position at the head of "such a wonderful company".
"I am absolutely delighted to be the next CEO of Telstra," Thodey told a media conference on Friday, called to announce his appointment.
"It is such a wonderful company. It really is a great Australian company.
"I'm excited about the opportunity to take this business
forward."
Thodey, who will take up the new position after outgoing CEO Sol
Trujillo returns to the US on June 30, said he would dedicate
himself to serving Telstra customers.
"All my energy will be dedicated to that end, serving our customers," he said.
Of his predecessor, Thodey said Trujillo was a strong leader who would be missed.
"He has been a very strong leader and he has engendered a tremendous commitment inside the company," he said.
Thodey said he will meet with Trujillo in the next few days to develop a transition plan and that the company would have open discussions with the federal government on its broadband plans.
Thodey refused to be drawn on his opinion on Trujillo's approach to the broadband plans, which saw the company excluded from the government's former tender process to the build the network last year.
"I think its important to look forward," Thodey said.
Telstra chairman Donald McGauchie has resigned from the telco, immediately replaced by current board member Catherine Livingstone.
Livingstone told reporters the appointments did not change the company's underlying strategy, but meant a fresh approach.
"I think we're actually going into the next phase. You have an
underlying strategy, but the implementation is
phase-by-phase."
"The transformation programme implemented by Trujillo after his
appointment in 2005 would be continued, Ms Livingstone said.
"We are absolutely determined to build on the investment that has gone into the transformation," she said.
Tough road ahead
Meanwhile, Telstra's union (CEPU) says the new boss has a mountain of challenges ahead and must address the "mess" left by his predecessor.
"Let there be no doubt, from our point of view Sol Trujillo weakened the organisation on a range of fronts. Few would say Telstra is stronger due to Mr Trujillo's time as CEO," CEPU national president Ed Husic said in a statement.
Husic said thousands of Australian jobs had been lost or outsourced to multinationals, complaints had more than tripled and Telstra's share price had hit an all-time low under Trujillo.
"Sol Trujillo has left Telstra in a mess, Telstra shareholders should rightly demand the new CEO moves to quickly address these problems," he added.
Husic called for a smarter, more inclusive approach to stakeholder relations.
As a priority, Thodey must enter, in good faith, into a collective bargaining agreement for employees, he said.
Husic said he should also review the Transformation Program of job cuts and move to protect in-house telecommunications skills to re-position Telstra as a viable participant in the national broadband network.
