NBNCo names board of directors

A part-time productivity commissioner, an ex-Freehills law chief and finance executives from Westpac and Wesfarmers are among five directors appointed to the NBN Co board today.

The Government ended months of speculation with the announcement of the Board make-up, which includes Doug Campbell, Peter Hay, Siobhan McKenna, Diane Smith-Gander and Gene Tilbrook.

The directors will join executive chair and NBNCo chief Mike Quigley on the board.

Campbell, the founding group managing director and key architect of Telstra Country Wide and a key face behind the failed NBN RFP bidder Acacia, has already been appointed to head up the Tasmanian NBNCo.

Peter Hay, a former chief executive of law firm Freehills, is expected to bring "substantial legal and regulatory experience that will be crucial in establishing and operating NBN Co", according to a statement from communications minister Stephen Conroy.

He has spent 30 years in the legal sector and specialises in public company takeovers, corporate governance matters and risk management.

Siobhan McKenna was appointed a part-time Commissioner of the Productivity Commission in June 2009, working on the Social and Economic Infrastructure Services study, which is part of a five year rolling review of regulatory burdens on business.

She was previously a Partner at management consultancy firm McKinsey as well as a member of the advisory board of the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

Diane Smith-Gander, also a former partner of McKinsey but in the United States, was most recently head of Westpac's business and technology solutions and services division.

Gene Tilbrook was finance director of Wesfarmers from 2005 to 2009. He is said to be a specialist in financial, valuation, capital management and corporate strategy.

"These appointments move us to an important next stage in the implementation of this historic nation-building infrastructure project," the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, Stephen Conroy said.

Conroy acknowledged the contributions made by the interim directors.