Optus dissolves CIO role in restructure
Just after Telstra announced it was reworking the structure of its operations team, Optus has also come out with an internal reorganisation that will see the company's CIO position discontinued.
Lawrie Turner(Credit: Optus)
Following a review, the telco has decided to merge its IT division with sections of its Products and Delivery team and Networks team to form a new business unit called Technology and Products.
This means that technology and operations will be managed from start to finish by one division as opposed to across three business units as was previously the case.
Optus CIO Lawrie Turner will also be leaving in August to join another company, according to a statement from the carrier. Turner, who has been with the company for almost three years, left on his own steam, the company said, adding that there were no plans to appoint a new CIO because the role has been subsumed in the Technology and Products division.
"During his time at Optus, IT performance and delivery in the organisation improved significantly, while Lawrie has also had an enormous impact on the culture within Optus IT and driven greater engagement between IT and the broader Optus business," the company's statement said.
Andrew Buay, who had previously headed up the Products and Delivery team, will head the new Technology and Products group. He will also be a CTO and CIO of sorts, although his title will be managing director Technology and Products.
Soo Meng Tay, managing director, Optus networks, is also leaving, returning to Singapore in early August after two years with Optus.
The revamp was announced via an internal email, where chief executive officer Paul O'Sullivan explained the mentality behind the change.
"These changes are designed to streamline product development and reduce the number of handoffs, to allow us time to do good quality customer testing before we launch products — and still increase our speed to market. They will help us develop an integrated approach to the applications and content we offer customers, online, on their mobiles or in any converged environment," he said in the email.
Optus has also set up a new unit called Optus Digital Media, joining the content and applications portion of the Products and Delivery team to parts of the Communications, Consumer Marketing and Networks teams. Optus hoped the new unit would drive innovation in the online, content and applications spaces.