Vocus shares
have been given a boost by the appointment of former Optus boss Kevin Russell
as managing director and chief executive.
Mr Russell,
who has also been Telstra's retail group executive and led UK provider Hutchison
Three through a successful turnaround, will take charge next week.
His
appointment comes three months after Geoff Horth quit the broadband provider in
the wake of an earnings warning that led to another in a series of share price
falls.
Shares in Vocus,
which owns the iPrimus and Dodo brands, lost about 75 per cent of their value
over two years, but were 5.3 per cent higher at $2.485 at midday on Monday on
news of Mr Russell's appointment.
Chairman Bob
Mansfield, a former Telstra chairman who took on the role at Vocus when Vaughan
Bowen stepped down in March, said Mr Russell was a highly experienced and
respected CEO.
"The
board is very pleased that Kevin will be leading Vocus through its next stage;
building a high-performance team that is focused on developing and executing a
strategy to deliver the potential value within the company."
Michael
Simmons has been leading Vocus as interim chief executive since February, when
Mr Horth left after the telco posted a sharp fall in first-half profit and cut
its outlook for underlying earnings.
Mr Simmons
will return to his previous role as chief executive of the enterprise and
wholesale unit.
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