Vocus Group has hired telco industry veteran Kevin Russell as its new managing director and CEO, following the departure of former chief exec Geoff Horth three months ago.

kk Russell, who comes on board with an A$1.1 million pay packet, most recently served as Group executive for Telstra and before that as the consumer country chief officer and CEO at Optus.

According to Vocus chairman Bob Mansfield, Russell will be responsible for “leading Vocus through its next stage; building a high-performance team that is focused on developing and executing a strategy to deliver the potential value within the company.”

With Russell coming on Board, Vocus interim group CEO Michael Simmons will return to his position as the company’s chief executive of enterprise and wholesale.

Vocus also said that as part of Russell joining its ranks on  28 May, he will also be appointed to the board.

Mark Callander, CEO of Vocus New Zealand, will also join the Vocus Board on 28 May as an executive director.