UPDATE: Two top executives at Optus, including board director Michael Venter, will depart amid escalating fallout from a devastating triple-zero emergency call outage. This urgent announcement comes as the Singaporean-owned telco faces intense scrutiny following its failure to connect over 600 calls for help across South Australia, the Northern Territory, Western Australia, and parts of New South Wales in September 2023.
Optus confirmed today that both Venter, the chief financial officer, and chief information officer Mark Potter will leave the company in March 2026. Their departures highlight the significant impact of the outage, which was caused by a problematic firewall update. The situation was exacerbated when Optus mistakenly sent notifications about the outage to the wrong email address, leaving federal authorities uninformed for over a day. Tragically, three deaths have been linked to this lapse in emergency service connectivity.
This incident has drawn international attention, prompting Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong to extend condolences to Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who stated that Optus “let down the nation” in a critical time of need.
Optus CEO Stephen Rue addressed the media, emphasizing that the departures were the result of “long-term and open discussions.” Venter previously served as interim CEO before Rue took over in November 2024, following a separate network outage that occurred in November 2023.
In light of these developments, Optus, alongside rival Telstra, notified customers that a number of older Samsung mobile devices would be blocked from accessing their networks due to ongoing issues with triple-zero connectivity. This precautionary measure underscores the company’s commitment to ensuring safety and reliable service moving forward.
Andy Giles Knopp, chief financial officer at Aussie Broadband, is set to replace Venter in April 2026. Optus chair John Arthur praised Knopp’s “strong track record in leading high-performing teams through periods of accelerated transformation.” Meanwhile, John McInerney, currently chief information officer at New Zealand’s OneNZ, will bring his expertise in digital transformation to the role at Optus.
Despite the mounting pressure from politicians and public outcry over the outage, Rue remains resolute. When questioned about his future at the company, he stated, “I am absolutely determined and focused to work through these processes that we’re doing here and to implement recommendations.”
As Optus prepares for these leadership changes, all eyes will be on the company to see how it addresses the fallout from this critical failure in emergency services and strives to rebuild public trust. Developing updates will follow as this story unfolds.
