The Australian government has appointed former Alcatel CEO Mike Quigley as executive chair of the National Broadband Network (NBN) operating company.
The government also announced that once more directors are appointed, one will be chosen to become non-executive chairman, with Quigley taking the dual role of CEO and managing director.
UK-born Quigley is an Australian citizen and a former head of Alcatel Australia. He worked at the company for 36 years and prior to the merger with Lucent was touted to be the next CEO. He led Alcatel's team in the merger negotiations but was passed over in favor of Patricia Russo.
He was also approached to become the CEO of Telstra, but declined as he expected to be appointed head of Alcatel.
The Australian government also announced the first five Tasmanian towns to be connected under its still-unfunded NBN program.