Another Telstra alum appointed as NBN Co exec

NBN Co has appointed ex-Telstra executive Greg Adcock to the position of chief operating officer, making Adcock the third Telstra alum to be given a senior role at NBN Co in the last six weeks.

Adcock’s appointment is effective immediately. He will be a member of the executive committee and report to the CEO.

The company’s existing COO, Ralph Steffens, who has been in the position for two years, will step down from the position and leave the company.

Adcock is the third Telstra alum to be appointed to a high-ranking position at NBN Co in recent weeks. In early October, one-time Telstra CEO Ziggy Switkowski was appointed to the position of executive chairman at NBN Co. Three weeks later, ex-Telstra director JB Rousselot was given the new position of head of strategy and transformation.

Adcock spent the last 20 years at Telstra. During his time at Telstra, he was on the team that negotiated the company’s Definitive Agreements with NBN Co. Most recently, he was charged with delivering Telstra’s infrastructure commitments under the Definitive Agreements.

Perhaps anticipating claims of a conflict of interest, NBN Co said Adock “will not be involved in any renegotiation of the Definitive Agreements” in its announcement of his new appointment.

NBN Co executive chairman Ziggy Switkowski said: “I warmly welcome Greg to our company. He will lead NBN Co’s network design and deployment activities with a focus on industry partnerships, contract management, operational processes and systems.”

“I appreciate the constructive approach taken by Telstra in the releasing of its executive to commence his new role immediately,” Switkowski added.

Regarding departing COO Steffens, Switkowski said: “On behalf of the company, I thank Mr Steffens for his leadership during the critical formative years of this project and wish him well for the future.”

The Telstra heritage of Switkowski, Rousselot and Adcock has not gone unnoticed in the IT media. Delimiter has also drawn other links between the three.

“Adcock, executive chairman Switkowski and recently appointed head of strategy and transformation JB Rousselot were all reported prior to the federal election to have had contact with the Coalition ... and/or personal relationships with then-Shadow Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull. All three have since taken senior positions at NBN Co, despite the fact that none of the three have significant last-mile fixed telecommunications infrastructure construction experience,” Delimiter writer Renai LeMay said.

LeMay was highly critical of Adcock’s appointment.

“The rapid replacement of respected NBN Co chief operating officer Ralph Steffens with a Telstra executive who appears less experienced with fibre rollouts but better politically connected represents a key signal that NBN Co’s senior executive hiring process has now become completely politicised and is no longer independent from the federal government,” he wrote on Delimiter 2.0.

Both of LeMay’s pieces are worth a read in their entirety.

But not everyone is up in arms. The AFR quoted former Service Stream MD Graeme Sumner as giving Adcock’s appointment the thumbs up.

“He’s been in the industry for a hell of a long time and he knows what the issues at NBN Co are,” Sumner said. “If anyone has the wherewithal to do the right thing I think it’s him. He’s also got a lot of integrity so he’s trusted by contractors in the industry."

Pictured: departing COO Ralph Steffens. Image courtesy of NBN Co.