Ziggy's Telstra reign Scales down

Bill Scales, 59, Telstra's chief of staff and group managing director, regulatory, corporate and human relations, today announced plans to retire from the carrier in "approximately six months".

Scales' retirement announcement comes as Dr Switkowski also gears up to leave in July or earlier if a replacement is found, a move announced on 1 December last year by chairman Donald McGauchie.

Dr Switkowski said Scales had, since coming on board in November 2000, "been responsible for the excellent progress in Telstra's human relations efforts as reflected in the recent employee opinion survey results, led the development of our regulatory strategies at a time of increased competition and regulatory intervention and guided Telstra through many complex corporate and public relations challenges.

"As chief of staff, Bill has ensured the proper, efficient functioning of many of the chief executive officer's processes and helped integrate and harmonise strategies across divisions," he added.