Hassell resigns at NBN Co; ex-Optus and Telstra exec fills the gap

Ex-SingTel Optus and Telstra executive John Simon has been appointed head of product and sales at NBN Co, following the departure of Jim Hassell from the position next year.

Hassell has been appointed group CEO at Broadcast Australia, where he has previously worked as chief operating officer.

Caroline Lovell has also been appointed to NBN Co’s executive committee and promoted to head of regulatory affairs and industry analysis. Lovell was previously principal of regulatory affairs.

Simon was previously managing director, strategy, corporate development and transformation at SingTel Optus and has also spent time in Telstra’s multimedia business.

“I’m pleased to welcome John Simon to the executive team. He brings to the company a wealth of experience in telecommunications and technology strategy that will help consolidate relationships and continue to develop products that meet the requirements of our industry customers and consumers…” Mike Quigley, NBN Co CEO, said in a statement.

“He leaves the company in an excellent position to build on his achievements in developing the Wholesale Broadband Agreement and the associated negotiations with industry, which culminated in the signing up to the NBN telephone and internet service providers that represent over 95 per cent of the retail market.”

Hassell has played a key role in the roll out of the National Broadband Network (NBN).

He has previously said historically, when capacity has been built, users and developers have responded with new applications and developments. For example, applications such as YouTube, Google Earth and Facebook have all been developed in response to technology that exists today.

Hassell will leave NBN Co in mid-February next year after a handover period with Simon.

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