2degrees has appointed former Vodafone NZ boss Russell Stanners as one of the telco’s board directors in its newly established board lineup.
The new appointments, which follow the merger of Vocus New Zealand and 2degrees, include Liz Coutts as new company chair, with Stanners and Kathy Meads joining as directors.
2degrees chief executive Mark Callander said the newly formed board brought a “diverse blend” of experience from across a number of private and public companies, crown entities and community organisations.
Stanners stepped down as Vodafone’s chief executive in October 2018 after being with the company for 17 years – 15 of them as CEO.
Callander said Stanners would bring his “significant” experience in the telecommunications and IT sectors, spanning from his time at Vodafone and his other director roles, which have included ihug, Unisys and IBM.
Incoming chair Liz Coutts is adding 2degrees to a list of other companies she currently chairs, including healthcare distributor Ebos Group, rubberware company Skellerup and aged-care facilities provider Oceania Healthcare.
Meads holds director roles at Port Taranaki, Magic Memories and New Zealand Petroleum and Minerals (NZPM) – along with an international directorship in The Shipowners’ Mutual Protection and Indemnity Association, an insurance company based in Luxembourg.
Callander said the new board marked an “exciting milestone” as the next generation of 2degrees developed.
“We have a wealth of diverse and complementary talent within our board, and this, coupled with our collective ambitions to innovate, challenge and disrupt, makes for exciting times ahead,” he said.
Macquarie Asset Management’s Brett Jolly and Vic McClelland have also joined the board as non-executive directors.
Callander told media at a press briefing back in June that growth was going to be the key focus for the telco's future – but the plan for growth went beyond price and looks, to avoid becoming “a light blue version of Vodafone or Spark”.
