Now that’s a bit unexpected. Bruce is usually pretty hard on large companies.
Shareholders Association chairman Bruce Sheppard today defended Telecom, referring to the employment of chief executive Paul Reynolds who has more than 20 years with British phone giant BT.
He said Gattung was an internal appointment and he applauded the company for that but said they needed a change after clashing with a Government that was keen on regulation.
“Telecom needed fresh, external blood, it just did. Paul is a person who has dealt with structural and operational separation before at BT and he is a person who has a committed customer focus,” Sheppard said.
He said Reynolds should not receive a bonus after Telecom’s performance, but his base salary needs to be seen in the global context.
“Remember $3 million is only a million quid [pounds],” Sheppard said.
There are very, very few people who have the experience guiding a large company through a change like the Local Loop Unbundling that Telecom is currenly undergoing.
I’m quite sure that if such people were plentiful, the law of supply and demand would mean Telecom’s chief would be paid significantly less. So he is worth the money, but he’s certainly not going to get a bonus this year.
Hm, was it under Gattung that the disastrous decision to go to CDMA was made? I can’t remember. That decision was far, far worse than the decision to setup the XT network.
Something should go here, maybe later. 