Telecom the county's biggest phone company, has appointed Lion finance director Jolie Hodson as its new top number cruncher.
Hodson will take up the role of chief financial officer from June, replacing Nick Olson. She's currently a Sydney-based finance director of Lion's beer, spirits & wines Australia division, its biggest business unit. Telecom's general manager of commercial finance Tim Bluett will be acting CFO until her arrival.
"Jolie has a proven track record at translating strategy into execution and will be a welcome addition to our leadership team as we accelerate our strategic shift to become a future-oriented, competitive provider of communication, entertainment and IT services delivered over our networks and the Cloud," chief executive Simon Moutter said in welcoming Hodson.
The inclusion of entertainment services as part of Telecom's future comes as broadcasting and telecommunications face growing convergence, with streaming and on-demand video seen as the appeal for consumers to buy ultra-fast broadband services. Whether that comes in the form of offering content, or facilitating delivery has yet to be decided.
That comes a week after Moutter told analysts Telecom is shifting its focus to providing services and away from building things to become a data-driven and mobile-focused telecommunications operator. At the time, Moutter was coy as to what shape Telecom, saying all will be revealed at the May investor day.
