Telstra CFO Vicki Brady is about to become the telco’s first female CEO

Telstra CEO Andy Penn is stepping down from the role he’s held for seven years, with the telco’s Chief Financial Officer, Vicki Brady taking the helm as its first female CEO.

Brady joined Telstra in 2016 and has held the roles of Group Executive, Consumer and Small Business, and in July 2019, was appointed CFO and Group Executive responsible for Strategy. She has a Bachelor of Commerce from the ANU, a Masters from Stanford Graduate School of Business, is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants ANZ.

The transfer of power will take place on September 1 this year.

Telstra chair John Mullen said Penn, who joined Telstra as CFO in 2012 and became CEO in 2015 leaves an enduring legacy of transformation.

“Andy has led Telstra during a period of significant change and will be known for his courage in setting a bold ambition through the T22 strategy to deliver a transformed experience for customers, shareholders and employees. There is no doubt the strategy has delivered beyond expectations and has laid the foundations for Telstra’s recently announced T25 strategy and a renewed focus on growth and innovation,” he said.

“During his time as CEO, Andy has driven a focus on digitisation underpinned by a commitment to simplifying our products and services for our customers and employees. He has also maintained our leadership in networks, including recently through our investment to lead on 5G.

“Delivery of the T22 strategy has seen Telstra return to underlying growth, achieve significant customer experience improvements, reduce costs by over $2.5 billion and reach high performing employee engagement levels with over 17,000 people now working in agile teams across Telstra.

“He has provided leadership at what has truly been an extraordinary time as we have navigated both as a company and a nation through the challenges of the pandemic.

Mullen said Penn had also developed a strong executive team to ensure a strong succession plan.

“The greatest testament to this is the ability to announce an internal successor to the role of CEO and I am thrilled to be able to announce Vicki in the role today,” he said.

“Having started her career with KPMG, Vicki subsequently worked in a range of finance, commercial and strategy roles before moving into broader business leadership positions. She has made a significant contribution to Telstra including her work in developing our new go to market plans as part of the T22 strategy.

“She has played a key leadership role in the development of Telstra’s T25 strategy and is well placed to lead the company through its next phase. She could not be more qualified to take over the reins to deliver on our T25 commitments.”

Brady signs on to the CEO role with a $2.39 million salary, with the Executive Variable Remuneration Plan offering incentives of up to 300%.