Optus has lost its managing director of networks, Günther Ottendorfer, to Telekom Austria group.
Ottendorfer, originally from Austria himself, has taken a job as CTO at Telekom after two years at Australia’s number-two telco. The executive will stay with Optus until mid-2013 while working on a transition plan, Optus said.
Ottendorfer oversaw the launch of the Optus 4G network and capacity enhancements to the 3G network. In December, he outlined plans to speed deployment of 4G LTE to Adelaide and Canberra.
More recently, Ottendorfer revealed a restructure that will result in redundancies of some full-time employees. The announcement followed 750 layoffs in May last year.
“I am proud of our achievements in the last two years, particularly in launching the superfast Optus 4G network, and upgrading over 4000 3G sites for stronger 3G coverage nationally,” Ottendorfer said in a statement.
“I have greatly valued my time running and building the Optus network and feel certain I will leave it in a great place – a strong, competitive network and a real choice for Australian mobile users.”
Ottendorfer added that he looked forward to returning home with his family.
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