Stories by CIO New Zealand

Head of Telecom Retail quits

Telecom Retail CEO Alan Gourdie has resigned and will leave on October 31, the company announced today.
Gourdie was hired by former Telecom CEO Paul Reynolds, and joined the company in August 2008. Gourdie returned to New Zealand to take up the role, leaving his London-based job as managing director of UK and European operations at Asia Pacific Breweries.

Orcon launches giveaway UFB offer to spur demand

Crown-owned internet service provider Orcon has announced a time limited free offer for Ultra Fast Broadband installation and services in an attempt to stimulate demand for its UFB plans.
Orcon CEO Scott Bartlett said that nationally, the government’s $1.5 billion UFB network passes by 60,000 premises. That number is expected to rise to 140,000 by the end of the year, however only 1000 of the premises where UFB was available were connected. Orcon has less than 200 UFB customers at present.

TelstraClear sold to Vodafone for $840m: Updated

Australian telco Telstra will sell TelstraClear, its New Zealand subsidiary, to Vodafone New Zealand for $840 million.
In a media statement Telstra says Vodafone New Zealand will acquire TelstraClear’s voice and data-based services, network infrastructure and New Zealand customer base.

CIO Awards winners announced

Thomas Salmen, chief technology officer at internet service provider Orcon, was named as the CIO of the Year at the CIO Summit event in Auckland yesterday evening.
At Orcon, Thomas takes up a role that combines the CTO and the CIO functions. The judges said they were impressed with Thomas’s “unique mix of technical capabilities combined with a strong commercial acumen and clear understanding of the benefits of solutions that delivered profits.”

2012 NZ CIO Awards finalists

The 2012 New Zealand CIO Awards reward people and teams who have shown leadership, innovation and foresight in the ICT industry.
CIO of the Year Award

Zeacom snapped up by Canadian software co for $40m

Canadian enterprise software company Enghouse Systems has acquired local call centre software specialist Zeacom Group for US$30.6 million ($40.5 million).
Auckland-based Zeacom’s contact centre and business process software products are in use at over 3,500 customer sites worldwide. The company, which has offices in New Zealand, Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom, reported annual revenue for the 2012 financial year of approximately $38.4 million.

Telecom confirms Reynolds' leaving date

Gen-i CEO Chris Quin will be acting CEO of Telecom from June, until Simon Moutter takes over the role on September 1.
Telecom has announced that Paul Reynolds will remain at the telco to support Quin during June and leave the company on June 30, the end of Telecom's financial year.

Pacific Fibre announces US$200 million in sales

Pacific Fibre has announced it has secured a fifth foundation customer for its undersea internet cable, bringing its total forward sales to US$200 million.
“We are pleased to have secured another significant sale to a US customer, further de-risking the Pacific Fibre business for investors,” says Sam Morgan, co-founder and chairman.

Peter Wise joins IDC as senior research manager telecommunications

Peter Wise has joined IDC from Telecom New Zealand where he was head of strategy for Telecom wholesale. Before that, he was at TelstraClear where his most recent roles were group manager, business marketing and group manager, consumer product marketing.
The new appointment comes after IDC’s telecommunications analysts Rosalie Nelson and Rosemary Spragg moved to Chorus.

Hi-Tech Awards finalists announced

The finalists for this year’s Hi-Tech Awards were announced yesterday at events in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
Now in their 18th year, the awards are run by the New Zealand Hi-Tech Trust, a not for profit organisation aimed at promoting and supporting the technology industry.

Telecom CFO takes top award

Telecom chief financial officer Nick Olson has won this year's CFO of the Year award. The judges recognised Olson's leadership during the telco's de-merger and the development of its strategic plan.

Microsoft announces 2012 Imagine Cup finalists for NZ

The world's toughest problems inspired 400 entries for this year's Microsoft Imagine Cup. Microsoft has today announced the top 19 finalists from around New Zealand.
The Imagine Cup sees university and polytechnic students compete to come up with technology based solutions to solving global problems.

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