Former Telstra chair and current deputy chairman of Vocus Bob Mansfied has taken the reins as a non-executive independent chairman of the board, replacing Vaughan Bowen who has announced his resignation from the board.
The appointment of Mansfield follows the announced resignation last month of Geoff Horth as CEO after a tumultuous couple of years.
Excerpts from the ASX announcement follow.
Vaughan Bowen proposed that the Board’s key strategic priority of Board member renewal and the search for a new CEO would be best served by the appointment of an Independent, Non-Executive Chairman, at this point.
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Mr Bowen also believes this to be the appropriate time for him to resign from the Board, to pave the way for further Board renewal, through the recruitment and appointment of new independent non-executive Directors.
Mr Craig Farrow, who had previously indicated an intention not to stand for re-election at the next Vocus Annual General Meeting, has also elected to resign at the same time.
Newly appointed Vocus Chairman, Bob Mansfield said of outgoing Chairman, Vaughan Bowen, “His decision to stand down as Chairman at this time, in the interest of maximizing our opportunity to secure an outstanding new CEO, is testament to Vaughan’s commitment to putting the company first. Vaughan departs with the unqualified gratitude of the Board, for his outstanding contributions to Vocus.”
Mansfield said of Mr Farrow, “Craig too was central to the M2 success story, first as a founding director and then as long-serving Chairman. Until October last year, Craig served as Deputy Chairman of Vocus. Craig leaves with the sincere appreciation of the Board, for his committed service to Vocus during an extraordinarily challenging period.”
Mansfield AO has been a member of the Vocus Board since 1 January 2017. He has had an extensive career in the Australian telecommunications industry, including serving as Telstra’s Chairman for 4 years and as the founding CEO of Optus.
Mansfield’s additional Board experience has been considerable and spans listed public companies, private companies, and various philanthropic organisations, as well as having served in a number of roles in Australia’s Federal Government.