Plaudits have been coming on all fronts for David Teoh, pictured, as he steps down as chairman of TPG following the successful merger with Vodafone Hutchison last year.
Chief executive Iñaki Berroeta said that “with integration progressing well following last year’s merger between Vodafone Hutchison Australia and TPG, Teoh had decided to resign from the board.”
TPG’s Canning Fok, the one-time chair of Vodafone Hutchison Australia, will take over from Teoh.
Not so surprising Fok said Teoh’s legacy is “incomparable”.
“He has driven significant change in the Australian market and has carved out a position which TPG Telecom will build on,” Fok said. “We are in David’s debt for all he has done”.
It seems no one has a bad word to say about him.
Not one to lavish praise freely on the communications players, independent commentator and oracle Paul Budde has sung well Teoh’s plaudits.
“I think David Teoh and TPG are both very remarkable,” Budde told CDN. “David is one of the few ICT CEOs who doesn’t have a big ego, he had a very low profile but an immense impact on the Australian telecoms market,” he said. “TPG became the most significant competitor in the Australian market and has continued to be in that position for close to 30 years. At the same time the company has been among the most profitable challengers in the international telecoms market.
“Where most third or fourth arrivals in existing telecoms markets failed or never were able to grow to any significant size.
“TPG has been able to do that, this despite the often undermining powers of the incumbents.”
TPG started as Total Peripherals Group in 1986, when Teoh and his wife Vicky moved to Australia from Malaysia peddling custom computers.
Teoh went on to make a string of acquisitions, including SP Telemedia, iiNet and SP Telemedia, and the company grew into a $13 billion ASX-listed telco merging with Vodafone.
With a personal wealth of $2.58 billion, the enigmatic Teoh ranked at 40th on The Australian’s The List – Australia’s Richest 250 this month, with wife Vicky coming in at 39.
“After nearly 30 years leading TPG, I feel that now is the right time for me to hand over the reins and focus on other interests,” Teoh said.
He added: “I am leaving TPG Telecom in good hands with Iñaki and his team, and I am confident in its strong future.”
The board appointed Teoh’s son Jack Teoh and Tony Moffatt, the current TPG Telecom company secretary, as non-executive directors to fill the vacancies including that of outgoing Teoh son Shane Teoh.
