News
Brendon Riley to serve as Australian telco’s chief operations officer on a temporary basis.
Telstra on Monday announced that chief operations officer Kate McKenzie is stepping down and will leave the company in the next few weeks.
The Australian incumbent has yet to fill her position, but Brendon Riley, who served as Telstra COO from 2011 to 2013 and is now group executive for global enterprise and services, will take on the role on an interim basis, effective immediately.
McKenzie replaced Riley as COO in 2013, but has been with Telstra for 12 years. Her previous positions include managing director of Telstra Innovation, Products and Marketing, MD of strategic marketing, and MD of Telstra Wholesale. She joined the company in 2004 as head of its regulatory group.
Telstra said McKenzie is leaving due to retirement, but her own words suggest her working life might not be over.
"The time is right for me to change direction in my career," McKenzie said. "I leave knowing that Telstra, under Andy Penn’s leadership, has a great strategy for the future and wish the company, its people and its shareholders every success."
Penn, who became Telstra CEO a year and a half ago, said he has appreciated McKenzie’s "support and counsel" during his tenure.
"Kate has been a positive force for Telstra, supporting four chief executive officers and working to build our technology and innovation capability," Penn said.
"She has been a significant contributor to our customer-focused culture and a role model for women in the organisation," he added.
