NBN Co poaches VHA chief Bill Morrow

NBN Co has named current Vodafone Australia chief Bill Morrow as a permanent replacement for Mike Quigley, who retired in July.

Bill Morrow, new head of NBN Co

Ziggy Switkowski has been acting in the role of CEO at NBN Co whilst a permanent replacement was sought.

News of the appointment was first reported by The Australian Financial Review and by telecommunications industry newsletter, CommsDay.

The move to NBN Co means Morrow will have only spent just under two years rebuilding the business of Vodafone Hutchison Australia after its well documented network issues and customer exodus.

"I am delighted that a senior business leader of the calibre of Bill Morrow has agreed to accept the challenge of delivering the long-promised upgrade to Australia’s broadband infrastructure," Switkowski said in a statement.

"He possesses the right mix of talent, experience and deep knowledge of the telecommunications industry to ensure NBN Co can get the job done.”

Morrow said he believed the national broadband network - "done right" - would provide a boon to the local economy.

"With the right infrastructure and industry collaboration, Australia will reap the benefits for decades to come," he said in a statement.

"While I am sad to be leaving a great company like Vodafone, I am looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and ensuring every Australian is able to benefit from a world class national broadband network.”

Morrow is frequently billed as a "turnaround and transformation" specialist.

NBN Co's turnaround is expected to receive a further boost from the release of a portion of the 60-day strategic review at noon today.

Morrow's resume includes previous stints at US telco Clearwire, the Pacfic Gas and Electric Company and also various roles at Vodafone throughout Europe and also in Japan.

Since Australia's change of federal government, Morrow has sought to inject himself and VHA into the debate around ways to reboot the NBN project.

Specifically, Morrow wanted to find ways for mobile operators to take advantage of NBN Co's transit network, which he believed could be used to aid expansion of mobile services in regional areas of Australia.