Thodey was previously Telstra's Group Managing Director of Enterprise and Government, but on Thursday was announced as the successor to outgoing CEO Sol Trujillo.

Thodey, 54, has been a senior executive at Telstra for eight years. He joined Telstra from IBM where he was CEO of IBM's Australian and New Zealand operations. In his current position, he has been responsible for Telstra's corporate, government and large business customers in Australia, TelstraClear in New Zealand and Telstra's international sales division.

Thodey said he was delighted to be appointed CEO of Telstra and looked forward to building on the strong foundation left by Trujillo's four years at the helm.

"Telstra is a great Australian company with terrifically capable and committed people," Thodey said. "This company plays an important role in Australia, keeping millions of people reliably in touch across this vast country and across the world.

"Our strategy remains unchanged: to continue to provide customers with world-class products and services. The key to Telstra continuing to win and to serve customers will be finishing our transformation that started nearly four years ago. Completing the transformation will enable us to deliver a superior customer experience and the financial outcomes that our shareholders expect."

Newly appointed Telstra board chairman Catherine Livingstone AO praised Thodey’s appointment.

"David Thodey's selection as CEO is testament to the depth of talent within Telstra's executive ranks. He was chosen from among an outstanding group of internal and external candidates,” said Livingstone.

"The board felt David has a unique combination of a fundamental grasp of technology and a deep appreciation of customer needs."

Thodey became a member of the new Basketball Australia Board in April 2008 and has since served as Chairman.  He has been instrumental in the on-going reform process for Australian basketball.

Photo courtesy of Kangaroo Photos