The cruel rites of leadership succession

It seems a little cruel that Telecom has appointed Gen-i boss Chris Quin to be its acting CEO.

The telco has announced the departure date of outgoing CEO Dr Paul Reynolds, which will be at the end of June.

Unfortunately, his successor, Simon Moutter, won't be on-board until 1 September, so what was it to do?

Step forward Chris Quin, the popular boss of Gen-i, who had been touted by many as the favourite for the job.

From 1 June, he will be acting CEO of Telecom for three months, with Reynolds holding his hand for the first month of the changeover.

As I said, it does seem a little cruel to treat Quin this way. So, he's good enough to be the boss for a few months, when you need him the most, but not to run the telco long term?

It's like Telecom is giving him a prize, a taste of power and joy, only to take it from him a few months later.

However upsetting it might be for Quin, he will just have to suck it up. The long-term prize could well be worth it.

When Reynolds was appointed several years back, two of the Telecom insiders chasing after the job did a runner.

Among them was the new guy, Simon Moutter, who did a three-month stint as acting Telecom CEO before leaving to run Auckland International Airport.

So it's possible that Quin could stay with Telecom, proving his loyalty in spades, until Simon Moutter calls it a day, or gets fired.

As they say, "patience is a virtue", and Chris Quin may get his just desserts in the end.