Telstra Gets New Boss
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Telstra has a new marketin boss after Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo today announced that Bill Stewart, the company’s Group Managing Director (GMD), Strategic Marketing will leave the company at the end of the month, to return to his home and family in the United States. He wil be replaced by
Kate McKenzie.


Kate McKenzie, currently GMD, Telstra Wholesale will replace Mr Stewart, effective March 30.  Ms McKenzie’s replacement at Telstra Wholesale will be announced in the coming weeks.


Bill Stewart joined Telstra in 2005 to lead the newly formed Strategic Marketing group, which has responsibility for corporate strategy, mergers and acquisitions, market-based management, pricing, brand management and advertising, and Telstra Asia.


“Under Bill’s leadership, Telstra has delivered increased customer satisfaction across all our business units and services,” Mr Trujillo said. “Bill and his team have helped deliver increases in market share, improved margins, lower churn and high strike rates for sales.


“Bill’s expertise in market-based management has given Telstra an unmatched depth of customer knowledge and has enabled us to provide high-value, competitively differentiated products and services to our customers.
Mr Stewart paid tribute to the accomplishments of the Strategic Marketing group.


“I am immensely proud of the people in Strategic Marketing for delivering this critical element of the transformation,” Mr Stewart said. “All of our achievements have been possible because of the commitment and professionalism of the Telstra team.”


Mr Trujillo said that Telstra was fortunate to have someone of Kate McKenzie’s calibre and experience to take on the role of GMD Strategic Marketing.

 


“Kate is a focussed and clear thinker with a wealth of experience across a range of industries in both the private and the public sector,” Mr Trujillo said. “Kate has done an exceptional job at Telstra Wholesale over the past four years and I am certain she will do an excellent job in her new cross-company role.”


Ms McKenzie will continue to report to the CEO and maintain her position on the CEO Leadership Team.
“I’m very excited to take on such a diverse and challenging role at a time of rapid change for the industry,” Ms McKenzie said.


“Over the past four years, the Strategic Marketing group has been integral to Telstra’s success through its brilliant customer research, management of the company’s brand, a series of timely acquisitions in Asia and the sale of non-core assets. I look forward to building on the terrific work the group has already done.


“I want to thank everyone in Telstra Wholesale who has worked with me since January 2006.   We can be immensely proud of our achievements in taking forward a $2.5 billion business in a challenging environment.  We have brought new products like ADSL2+ and Ethernet into the wholesale market and we consistently provide high quality, value adding products and services to our customers.”