Optus CEO is nowhere as the network crashes: meet Kelly Bayer Rosmarin – the woman who runs the telco – as she disappears as the network crashes, affecting 10 million people

Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin is missing in action as the Singapore-run telco faces its second massive crisis since taking the reins and the company was hit by the country’s biggest-ever hack.

Ms Rosmarin dodged calls from ministers after the Optus network crashed on Wednesday, cutting off calls, texts and internet access to 10 million customers.

Home Secretary Clare O’Neil said she had been unable to get a response from Optus about the outage until the corporate giant finally issued an update hours later.

And Telecommunications Minister Michelle Rowland slammed the telco for not coming to the fore by publicly addressing the issue.

“Customers want to know what is going on and I would urge Optus to disseminate that information through all possible channels and to do so as a matter of priority,” she said.

Optus later issued a short statement admitting a problem and apologizing for the ‘inconvenience’.

The Optus network crashed on Wednesday, cutting off phone calls, text messages and internet access for 10 million customers

“Optus is aware of an issue that may be impacting some of our mobile and internet customers,” a spokesperson said.

‘We are currently working to determine the cause and apologize for any inconvenience caused. In case of emergency, customers can still call 000.’

But five hours after the outage began, there is still no update from the company’s CEO.

Ms Rosmarin’s last update on social media was six months ago when the former Football Australia chief executive posted a link to her interview with Manchester City striker Erling Haaland.

Mother-of-two Ms Rosmarin, 46, was given the top job in April 2020 after a year as deputy CEO, despite having no telecoms experience during her 14 years at the Commonwealth Bank.

She was parachuted into the Football Australia board after serving as personal banker to then-chairman Sir Frank Lowy, and rose through the ranks of the CBA.

The academic graduate, who grew up in South Africa and now lives with CBA director Rodney in wealthy Vaucluse in Sydney’s east, earned a reputation at the bank as a disruptor who could “ruffle feathers”.

Mother-of-two Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, 46, lives in wealthy Vaucluse in Sydney’s east with CBA director Rodney

She took over Optus just as the Covid pandemic began, but faced the biggest crisis the company had ever faced when a massive hack stole and exposed the personal data of up to 10 million customers a year ago.

The angry response led analysts, customers and commentators to demand her resignation at the time, but she managed to survive the outrage.

At the time, she was credited with stepping forward and addressing the issue personally with a series of video messages to customers.

“The first 12 to 24 hours are critical in this crisis,” said one PR specialist. “She came out on top at that time, which was good.”

But she will now face similar calls to quit after this latest blackout left millions stranded for hours – with no sign of the CEO.

Questions have also been asked about her various additional positions in addition to her demanding job at Optus, with seats on the boards of several other companies.

Her LinkedIn profile admits that she is currently still a non-executive director of digital advertising company REA Group and also Indian telco Airtel Africa.

She also served as a non-executive director of Afterpay rival Openpay for almost two years after becoming CEO of Optus, until she finally quit in January 2022.

At the time of last year’s data hack, some critics questioned whether the position of Optus CEO had her full attention.

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