Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin goes missing as the Singapore-owned telecommunications company faces its second massive crisis since she took the reins and the company was hit hardest biggest hack ever recorded in the country.
Ms Rosmarin was avoiding calls from government ministers after the Optus network crashed on Wednesday, cutting phone calls, text messages and internet access to 10 million customers.
Home Affairs Minister Clare O’Neil said she was unable to get answers from Optus about the outage until the corporate giant finally released an update within hours later.
And Telecoms Minister Michelle Rowland criticized the telco for failing to take the lead in publicly addressing the issue.
“Customers want to know what’s going on and I urge Optus to get this information out through every channel possible and to do so as a priority,” she said.
Optus later released a terse statement admitting a problem and apologizing for the “inconvenience.”
Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin is missing as the Singapore-owned telecommunications company faces another massive crisis since she took the reins during the pandemic.
The Optus network crashed on Wednesday, cutting phone calls, texts and internet access for 10 million customers
“Optus is aware of an issue that may impact some of our mobile and internet customers,” a spokesperson said.
“We are currently working to identify the cause and apologize for any inconvenience.
“In the event of an emergency, customers can always call 000.”
But five hours after the outage began, there is still no word from the company’s CEO.
Ms Rosmarin’s last social media update was six months ago, when the former Football Australia board director posted a link to her interview with Manchester City striker Erling Haaland.
Mother-of-two Ms Rosmarin, 46, landed the top job in April 2020 after a year as deputy CEO despite having no experience in telecommunications during her 14 years at the Commonwealth Bank.
She was parachuted onto the Football Australia board after serving as personal banker to then-president Sir Frank Lowy and rose through the ranks of the CBA.
The science graduate, who grew up in South Africa and now lives in wealthy Vaucluse, east of Sydney, with her CBA director husband Rodney, has built a reputation within the bank as a disruptor capable of “ruffling feathers”.
Mother-of-two Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, 46, lives in wealthy Vaucluse, in Sydney’s east, with her husband, Rodney, an ABC executive.
She took over Optus at the start of the Covid pandemic, but faced the biggest crisis the company had ever faced a year ago when a massive hack stole and exposed the personal data of up to 10 million customers.
The furious reaction saw analysts, customers and commentators demand her sacking at the time, but she managed to survive the outrage.
At the time, she was credited with coming forward and taking personal ownership of the issue by sending a series of video messages to customers.
“The first 12 to 24 hours are crucial in these crises,” said a public relations specialist. “She came out on the right foot at that point, which was good.”
But it will now face similar calls after this latest outage left millions stranded for hours – with no sign from the CEO.
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