Lindsay Pyne resigns from Telecom board

12.00pm

Telecom director Lindsay Pyne has announced his resignation from the telco's board, citing growing commitments in Asia.

Telecom chairman Roderick Deane said Mr Pyne would resign from the board in September.

"Lindsay has found that his commitments in Asia have grown considerably since he took a position on the board last year. Accordingly, he has indicated he will be unable to continue to commit the necessary time to his duties as a Telecom director," Dr Deane said.

Dr Deane said he had accepted Mr Pyne's resignation with regret and had asked him to stay on as a director until September to ensure continuity of decision-making.

He said a new appointment to the board should be announced shortly.

Mr Pyne, a former chief executive of the Bank of New Zealand, was elected to Telecom's board in October last year.

Although his nomination for the position was questioned by the Shareholders' Association and a couple of fund managers with large Telecom shareholdings, including Brook Asset Management, Mr Pyne secured about 92 per cent of the more than 1 billion votes cast.

Mr Pyne is currently adviser to the president of Bangkok Bank.

- NZPA