Telecommunication bigwig Telstra has announced the appointment of Michael Ackland as the new Chief Financial Officer. He would be replacing Vicki Brady, who has been elevated to the CEO role, effective September 2022. 

“I was thrilled that we were able to appoint an internal candidate to the role - Michael [Ackland] has exceptional credentials and is well placed to continue to drive Telstra’s financial outlook and success,” said Vicky Brady, CEO, Telstra.

She also added that Ackland has strong telecommunications experience and his combination of skills will benefit the CFO role greatly.

Along with the promotion Ackland will also assume the role of group executive for strategy and finance. He has been part of the Telstra family for the last six years, starting as Group Director Telstra Country Wide and rising to Group Executive Consumer and Small Business in 2018.

Telstra had announced earlier in March 2022 that CEO Andrew Penn will step down after seven years in the role, with Brady named as his successor. Like Brady, Penn was elevated from the role of CFO when he was named CEO in 2015, a practice which seems to continue with Ackland’s promotion to CFO role too.

Previously, Ackland worked at General Electric’s ANZ business, starting at GE Capital in 2004 and moving up to senior executive roles, including ANZ CEO of GE Healthcare from 2012 to 2016. He also counts Boston Consulting Group as his previous employer, where he worked from 1996 to 2004.