Telstra retail chief resigns

Telstra's head of retail Karsten Wildberger has resigned from the telco for "personal reasons" and will take on a new non-telecommunications role in Germany after less than two months in the position.

Wildberger was appointed to the role in October as part of a management reshuffle at the telco sparked by the resignation of Telstra's former head of retail.

The restructure divided up the responsibilities of Gordon Ballantyne, who had been in charge of Telstra's customer-facing divisions as well as Telstra Health but announced his resignation to pursue other opportunities.

Wildberger took over the role, reporting into CEO Andy Penn.

Penn today said Wildberger would leave the telco for "personal reasons" and planned to return to his native Germany in the middle of next year to take an executive role outside the telecommunications industry.

The CEO said he was sorry to see Wildberger go and praised his contribution to the telco.

"Karsten is a great executive. We will be disappointed to see him go but understand his personal reasons. Karsten brings great energy and passion to our business and has significant global experience,” Penn said in a statement.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Telstra and in Australia and am excited by the company’s prospects. I was privileged to be selected by Andy Penn to lead the retail team. I am grateful to this incredible company, its people and its customers for three years of achievement and inspiration,” Wildberger said in a statement.

Telstra said it would announce succession arrangements for its retail division in the near future.

Before joining Telstra in January 2013, Wildberger held leadership roles with the Boston Consulting Group, Deutsche Telekom and Vodafone.