Two Optus Executives Depart Following Triple-Zero Crisis

Two top executives at Optus are set to depart following last month’s severe triple-zero service disruption.

This announcement was made this afternoon, revealing that Michael Venter, the current chief financial officer and board member who also briefly held the position of interim CEO, along with chief information officer Mark Potter, will be leaving the company early next year.

Andy Giles Knopp, originally from the UK and presently serving as the chief financial officer at Aussie Broadband, will step in to fill Venter’s role. Meanwhile, John McInerney, the CIO and head of transformation at One New Zealand, is slated to succeed Potter.

Optus stated that Potter has chosen to leave next year, considering it an appropriate time after laying down robust technological foundations for the company’s ongoing transformation programs.

The announcement follows barely a month after Optus experienced a 13-hour outage, resulting in over 600 emergency calls failing to connect due to a problematic network upgrade.

Three deaths have been been linked to the outage.

The company, which is Australia’s second-largest telecommunications provider behind Telstra, has faced widespread criticism for its handling of the outage, including from government officials who said Optus’ notification of the issue wasn’t sent to the correct email address.

It will face a Senate inquiry over the outage next week.

Optus made no mention of the triple-zero failure in announcing Venter and Potter’s departures.

“Michael has decided to retire from executive life to pursue a portfolio career, and I wish to thank him for his significant contribution to Optus over the past four years, including the time he spent as interim CEO before I joined the company,” chief executive Stephen Rue said of Venter.

“We are delighted to welcome Andy Giles Knopp next year, whose leadership and financial experience will be instrumental as we continue to focus the company on our core business of connectivity, and accelerate our transformation plans with urgency and accuracy.”

In regard to Potter, Rue said the decision came after “long-term and open discussions”.

“I wish him all the best with his next chapter,” he added.

“Incoming CIO John McInerney brings a wealth of experience and a proven ability to lead complex transformation programs. 

“I look forward to working with him as we work to evolve our IT capabilities to better serve our customers.”

Both Venter and Potter will leave Optus in March next year.

Giles Knopp will join the month after, while McInerney will start in November.