Chorus appoints its new chief executive

CHORUS has looked across the Tasman for someone to take over the reins, hiring former NBN executive JB Rousselot as chief executive effective from November 20.

The telecommunications network operator’s CEO, Kate McKenzie, unexpectedly announced her departure in August, although the board had been considering succession for some time.

She was a former Telstra executive, having been in charge of field services, IT and network architecture and operations for the Australian company.

Mr Rousselot finishes up this month at NBN — Australia’s equivalent to Chorus — where he followed his former Telstra boss, Ziggy Switkowski, almost six years ago. Before joining NBN, he held senior roles at Telstra as executive director of voice, the BigPond internet service provider, and in media.

‘‘As the build nears completion, the company’s focus turns to delivering on the full potential of the worldclass fibre infrastructure that has been built for New Zealand,’’ Chorus chairman Patrick Strange said in a statement.

‘‘JB has the right mix of skills and experience to drive innovation, efficiency and customer focus.’’

Ms McKenzie formally steps down on November 19, but will stay on for another month in an advisory role to help Mr Rousselot settle in. The pair both worked at Telstra through much of the 2000s and early 2010s.

Separately, Chorus said it attracted record demand for fibre connections in the September quarter, with 46,000 added. Total connections rose by 10,000 to 1.21 million in the quarter, and were up from 1.19 million a year earlier.

Total fixedline connections fell by 6000 to 1.44 million, as more fibre connections offset the decline in copper lines.

Chorus had 645,000 fibre connections as at September 30, accounting for 45% of total connections. That compares to 479,000 connections a year earlier, or 32%.

The company said it has completed 82% of the governmentsponsored ultrafast broadband rollout, with 863,000 premises passed. — BusinessDesk