StarHub CEO to retire; global search on for his successor
Peter Kaliaropoulos returned to Sydney urgently due to personal reasons
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Mr Peter Kaliaropoulos first joined StarHub in 1999 as a senior vice-president, then left in 2000. He rejoined in 2018 as chief executive.
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StarHub announced yesterday that its chief executive Peter Kaliaropoulos will retire and step down from his position with effect from Oct 31.
Mr Kaliaropoulos, an Australian, said he returned to Sydney urgently to be closer to his family due to the unforeseen and serious health issues of a close family member.
"Following almost 40 years in the industry across multiple countries, it is also the right moment in my career to step down from full-time executive roles," he added.
StarHub said it will immediately commence a global search for a new CEO.
In a statement, the telecommunications company said its board will establish an interim board executive committee to provide support to the company's leadership team during the search for a new CEO, and to oversee the smooth transition once that person is selected.
It added that Mr Kaliaropoulos will serve as a co-opted member on the interim board executive committee until the new CEO is hired.
When asked if StarHub would consider selecting a Singaporean as its next CEO, Mr Kaliaropoulos said yesterday that he could not speak for the interim committee, but added that the best person available would be selected and that StarHub was likely to look within the company, locally and globally.
Mr Kaliaropoulos' time as CEO is his second stint with the company.
The 61-year-old first joined StarHub in January 1999 as senior vice-president of commercial operations.
He left in June 2000 to take on several C-suite roles in New Zealand, Australia and the Middle East.
In July 2018, Mr Kaliaropoulos rejoined StarHub as its CEO.
In October of the same year, he oversaw a $25 million retrenchment exercise, during which 300 of the company's 2,500 employees were laid off, as part of the company's strategic transformation programme.
StarHub said then that the programme aimed to improve operational efficiencies and productivity, and was expected to realise $210 million in savings over a three-year period from last year.
Mr Kaliaropoulos said he was extremely fortunate to have been a member of the StarHub team twice, adding that he felt he was leaving the company in good hands.
"We have put a team together of very experienced professionals, and even if one member of the board steps down, the team is certainly good enough and strong enough to keep driving the business forward," he said.
He added that the company's strategic transformation is "well under way but not complete".
