Merger miss galls Telstra boss

SYDNEY - Telstra chief executive Ziggy Switkowski's vetoed plan to merge the Sensis unit of Australia's biggest phone company with John Fairfax Holdings was a "missed opportunity", he said yesterday.

Switkowski, 56, was asked to leave two months ago, after he and former chairman Bob Mansfield proposed combining the Sensis advertising and directories business with Fairfax, Australia's second-biggest newspaper publisher.

Sensis owns classified advertising publisher Trading Post Group.

"I think the proposal that the former chairman and I promoted around a union of Sensis, Fairfax and Trading Post was a missed opportunity," Switkowski told the Business Sunday TV programme.

"For Telstra to continue to succeed and maintain the current momentum requires alignment be-tween the chief executive, the board and management," Switkowski said.

Telstra plans to appoint a new chief executive before July 1.

"Events of the last year have emphasised that alignment is never going to be possible between me and some of the directors. Something had to give and that meant the CEO had to go."

Telstra chairman Donald McGauchie said in December, when he announced Switkowski's resignation, that Telstra needed a chief executive in whom investors could have confidence as Australia's Government sought to sell its 51.8 per cent stake.

The Government is preparing to sell the A$34 ($37.4) billion holding in the world's biggest ever share sale next year.

- BLOOMBERG