Singtel names Kelly Rosmarin as CEO-designate of Optus and Consumer Australia

Singapore

SINGTEL has named Kelly Bayer Rosmarin as CEO-designate of both Optus and Consumer Australia, the telco announced in a statement on Thursday.

Optus is Australia's second-largest telco, and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singtel, while Consumer Australia is the consumer arm of Optus.

Ms Bayer Rosmarin takes over from Allen Lew, and will join the Singtel management committee with effect from April 1, 2020. As deputy CEO of Optus, Ms Bayer Rosmarin has been driving customer experience improvements and market share growth for Optus' consumer business, the company noted.

Ms Bayer Rosmarin said: "I'm honoured to be given the opportunity to lead Optus at this exciting juncture, with 5G on the horizon and the Australian economy digitalising rapidly."

Prior to joining Singtel in March 2019, Ms Bayer Rosmarin was group executive of institutional banking and markets at the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, where she drove business growth and digital transformation programmes. She has been named among the top 10 businesswomen in Australia, and the top 25 women in Asia-Pacific finance.

Separately, Mr Lew will take on the newly-created role of CEO group strategy and business development, and country chief officer for Thailand. He will also continue as chairman of the executive committee of Singtel's Thai associate, AIS.

Mr Lew was appointed CEO of Optus and Consumer Australia in 2014. Since joining the group in 1980, he has held various senior management roles including CEO of group digital life, CEO Singapore and COO of AIS.

For the three months ended Sept 30, Optus posted a 24.2 per cent rise in its Q2 net profit to A$130 million (S$121 million), while revenue inched up 0.4 per cent to A$2.21 billion from a year earlier.

In terms of overall group revenue, Optus contributed about half, or 50.1 per cent of Singtel's S$4.15 billion revenue for the second quarter. This was slightly less than its revenue of S$2.2 billion in the year-ago period, which made up 51.5 per cent of Singtel's operating revenue in Q2 2018.

Singtel shares rose one cent to S$3.41 on Thursday.