Telstra has appointed the former head of Ericsson Australia, HÃ¥kan Eriksson as its new Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
Eriksson has spent the past 30 years with Ericsson and was most recently Chief Strategy Officer, South East-Asia and Oceania. He headed Ericsson Australia and New Zealand from 2012 to 2014 and before that was Ericsson's Group CTO from 2003-2012, including a two year stint from 2010-2012 as President of Ericsson Silicon Valley.
He replaces Vish Nandlall who was reportedly sacked in June for falsely claiming to have an MBA from Harvard, and for having plagiarized presentation content.
Telstra Group Executive Technology Innovation and Strategy, Stephen Elop, described Eriksson as 'an industry veteran with an impressive track record in technology and innovation' who would 'bring significant leadership to the CTO role with his success in building Ericsson's technology leadership, driving research development and significant developments in the convergence of wireless and fixed line.'
He noted that, in his role as Head of Ericsson Silicon Valley, he had built strong relationships within the local ecosystem.
'He has an intimate understanding of the Australian market and our business, a proven track record and a passion for technology and the customer experience [and] will provide significant global expertise in innovation as [Telstra] strides forward with its transformation to become a world class technology company that empowers people to connect,' Elop said.
