After much speculation, Telstra CFO Robyn Denholm has confirmed her resignation, following her appointment as Telsa Chair, taking the reigns from Elon Musk on November 13.
[Robyn Denholm]
Denholm has sat on Tesla’s board since 2014, with her final date of employment at Telstra being 6 May 2019.
Despite taking the Chair role, Denholm will continue as Telstra CFO for a six-month notice period, with CEO Andy Penn asserting new commitments will not detract her focus.
During the notice period, another Tesla board member will support Denholm with the “majority” of her Chair responsibilities. Denholm will also be stepping down from other Telsa Board Committee responsibilities during this time.
Former Tesla Chair and Co-Founder, Elon Musk, stepped down in late September, following pressure over his intention to take the company private.
[Elon Musk]
On August 7, Musk tweeted he’d “funding secured” for a buyout at $420 a share. As per his SEC agreement, Telsa must also appoint two extra independent directors.
Denholm joined Telstra in January 2018 as Chief Operations Officer (COO), and was promoted to Chief Financial Officer (CFO) in October.
Her resignation comes just one month into her CFO reign.
Telstra CEO, Andy Penn, claims the telco is conducting a search for a new CFO, with an update on a replacement appointment to be made “as soon as possible.”
“We are sorry to see Robyn leave Telstra. We know that it has become increasingly difficult to balance her responsibilities as Telstra CFO with the increased activity of the Tesla Board,” states Penn.
It follows a major shakeup of Telstra’s management team, as the telco continues to streamline operations and implement its Telstra 2022 vision – culling around 8,000 jobs, whilst aiming to achieve $1 billion in cost savings.
Denholm is credited with coordinating the delivery of Telstra’s commercial NBN commitments, whilst setting its Networks for the Future and Digitisation programs strategic direction.
