KEY POINTS:
A former colleague of Telecom boss Paul Reynolds is joining him in New Zealand as the telco's new chief financial officer.
Russ Houlden, who was finance director at British Telecom Wholesale when Reynolds was its chief executive, takes over from Marko Bogoievski, who is now with infrastructure investor Infratil.
Houlden's appointment leaves only one senior role vacant - the position of head of the retail unit vacated by Kevin Kenrick.
Industry commentators had widely tipped for an influx of ex-BT staffers at Telecom as Reynolds seeks to surround himself with people he knows and trusts.
Former BT executive Shelley Grey already heads its public affairs department, overseeing Telecom's communications and regulatory teams.
Houlden, who starts in the role on April 10, has extensive experience in senior financial leadership roles.
His last role was with commercial law firm Lovells, one of the largest international business legal practices, arriving at the time of a shake-up of its internal governance which saw the creation of an international executive board in which he was a member.
He was with BT for four years, and before that, with chemical producer ICI in financial and commercial roles for 18 years.
Reynolds said Houlden's international experience and considerable industry transformation experience would be an asset for the company.
"We are very fortunate to get someone of Russ' calibre."
Houlden said he had been following Telecom's recent progress with interest, and was looking forward to the new role. He will be based in Auckland and will lead finance teams located in New Zealand and Australia. Telecom shares closed up 10c at $3.84.
RUSS HOULDEN
2002-2008: Finance Director, Lovells
2000-2002: Finance Director, BT Wholesale
1999-2000: Finance Director, BT Networks & Information Services
1994-1999: Finance Director, ICI Polyurethanes
