Singtel’s Optus appoints non-executive director John Arthur as new chair

[SINGAPORE] Singtel’s Australian subsidiary Optus has appointed John Arthur, a non-executive director, as its new board chairman with effect from Monday (Aug 25).

Arthur replaces outgoing chairman Paul O’Sullivan, who is stepping down after a decade in the role and more than thirty years at Optus.

Yuen Kuan Moon, group chief executive of Singtel Group, said Arthur’s experience of working at executive and director levels in listed companies will provide “strong leadership and continuity” at a “pivotal time” for the company.

Arthur has been a member of the Singtel board since January 2022 and a director of the telco’s subsidiary NCS since February that year.

His most recent executive appointment was as chief operating officer of Westpac.

His last appointment as a chairman was as at Sydney Metro, where he retired from a six-year term in December 2024 after the Chatswood to Sydenham line opened.

Arthur has a law degree from the University of Sydney and previously chaired a major Australian law firm.

Optus’ outgoing chairman O’Sullivan has held the post since October 2014.

He was a managing director at Optus when Singtel acquired it in 2001, before going on to serve as its chief operating officer and overseeing its integration into the Singtel Group.

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O’Sullivan became chief executive officer of Optus in 2004. He then served as CEO of Group Consumer from 2012 and 2014, where he managed the consumer business across several countries and oversaw a customer base of over 500 million.

Andrew Parker will join Optus as a non-executive director to replace Arthur as chair of the audit committee.

Parker has over 25 years of executive and board-level experience. His most recent executive role was as senior trade and investment commissioner for Asean at Investment New South Wales, where he led the New South Wales’ government’s strategy and engagement with the association.

He has an economics degree from Macquarie University and is a fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia & New Zealand and the Australian Institute of International Affairs.

Shares of Singtel finished Friday 2.2 per cent or S$0.09 higher at S$4.20.