Telstra International gets a new COO

Stuart Corner
Thursday, 05 May 2011 11:07

IT Industry - Strategy

Telstra International has appointed Martijn Blanken as chief operating officer, based in Hong Kong and reporting to Telstra International group managing director, Tarek Robbiati.

He will be responsible for Telstra International's global network, IT and operations and for the strategic planning and control of the group's technology roadmap.

Robbiati said his appointment another example of the group's focus on having the best people leading the business. "Martijn will play an integral role in realising the benefits of our recently-added capabilities from Reach and will be a key driver of the group's strategy to deliver greater customer and shareholder value."

Telstra International manages Telstra's assets outside Australia and New Zealand. These include Hong Kong mobile operator, CSL China-based search and advertising businesses and the Telstra International global networks and managed services business.

Just days ago Robbiati named Xiaowei Chen as head of Telstra International's operations in China describing her appointment as "the result of an extensive international search for the right person to drive continued growth and shareholder value from Telstra's business interests in China."

Blanken joined Telstra in 2009 and, according to Telstra, "led a major restructure program focused on growing the Network Applications and Services business. During this time, Telstra has strengthened its position in these markets significantly by achieving double digit growth for sales and simultaneously improving profitability."

Prior to joining Telstra he was the general manager and vice president, Asia Pacific and Japan for Openwave Systems. He has also held senior positions at KPN Royal Dutch Telecom, most recently as senior vice president and managing director of the Managed Services and Outsourcing division.