Telecom starts search for new boss

Outgoing Telecom chief executive Paul Reynolds Photo / Paul Estcourt

Telecom, the phone company that carved out its network business as a separate entity last month, has begun its search for a new chief executive to replace outgoing Paul Reynolds.

The company has started the recruitment process and will look at both in-house and external candidates, chairman Mark Verbiest said in a statement.

In August, Reynolds flagged his exit, ending his five-year tenure at the country's biggest telecommunications company that included structural separation of the Chorus unit into a separately listed entity.

Telecom said there was no formal timeframe for Reynold's departure, only that it would be during 2012.

"He's still got a job to do and is focused on that. Paul's committed to seeing the transition through," the company said in a statement.

Telecom was vague about whether Reynold's replacement was likely to be in place before he left the company, only to say that the new recruit would be on board during the next financial year.

"The board understands the importance of moving rapidly to recruit a new CEO to lead the business forward in a post demerger environment, and to that end has already commenced the CEO recruitment process," Verbiest said.

"The board is committed to building on the momentum already generated as Telecom simplifies its business in order to deliver both improved service to customers and good returns to our investors."

Reynolds replaced former high profile Telecom boss Theresa Gattung after a breakdown in the company's relationship with the government broke down and former Telecommunications Minister David Cunliffe forced operational separation between the network and retail units.

Reynolds was brought in after overseeing a similar split at BT in the UK.

He received a total of $16.3 million in remuneration since he started in September 2007, including cash, shares and special payments.

Telecom put forward the prospect of structural separation in a bid to shed the heavy regulatory burden of operating a copper-line network monopoly, and win tax-payer funding to build a nationwide fibre network.

That bid was successful, and Chorus won $929 million of the $1.35 billion on offer from the government to roll-out an ultra-fast broadband network. Chorus expects it will have to spend $470 million and $670 million of its own money over the next eight years on construction.

Telecom shares rose 0.7 per cent to $2.13 in trading yesterday, and have climbed 9.7 per cent from its adjusted price after Chorus was spun out.