Optus CEO Allen Lew to step down

Optus is set to have a new CEO with Allen Lew stepping aside and deputy CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin taking the role from April 2020.

Optus CEO Allen Lew is moving to Thailand.

In a financial filing, Singtel said that current CEO Allen Lew will take on a new role of “CEO of group strategy and business development and country chief officer Thailand”.

Bayer Rosmarin will join the Singtel board from April 2020.

Lew has been CEO of Optus and Singtel’s Consumer Australia group since 2014.

“I look forward to passing the baton to Kelly whose ability to leverage technology, data and analytics to develop leading customer services and experiences will ensure Optus stays ahead of the game,” Lew said in a statement.

“Optus is primed to take advantage of 5G to achieve a serious growth spurt.”
Bayer Rosmarin said she was “honoured to be given the opportunity to lead Optus at this exciting juncture, with 5G on the horizon and the Australian economy digitalising rapidly.”

Prior to joining Singtel in March 2019, Bayer Rosmarin was group executive of institutional banking and markets at CBA.

Singtel’s group CEO Chua Sock Koong said Bayer Rosmarin would be tasked with “building on the success of Optus that has flourished under Allen’s dynamic leadership, particularly as we move into the next phase of 5G-powered growth.”

She added that Lew was seen as “best placed to help drive growth in Thailand”.

Correction: An earlier version of this story said Lew would step aside immediately, however this is not the case.