ASB man recruited to steer 70% of Crown Fibre roll-out

UPDATED:

Crown Fibre Holdings and Chorus have appointed a chairman for the Chorus UFB Steering Committee.

The committee will govern the partnership’s Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB) roll out and the new independent chairman is Gavin Walker, who will oversee Chorus’ stake in about 70% of the entire initiative.

Mr Walker is chairman of ASB Bank, Sovereign Insurance and the online retail and wholesale stock broking entities of the Commonwealth Bank of Australia.  He is also a director of Lion Pty and the Guardians of the New Zealand Superannuation Fund.

A Crown Fibre Holdings (CFH) spokesman said the three local fibre companies each have a board fulfilling the governance function, the chairs of which had been named recently. 

"Chorus and Crown Fibre have formed a partnership to roll out ultra-fast broadband. The Chorus contract uses an alternative financial model, as allowed by the Invitation To Participate in the UFB and therefore Chorus doesn't have a separate board for UFB."

Chorus spokesman Robin Kelly said the steering committee was made of up to seven members with three representatives each from New Chorus and Crown Fibre Holdings, and one independent person agreed by both parties as chair.  The committee oversees all material matters in relation to New Chorus deploying and operating the UFB network.

As chairman of the Steering Committe, Mr Walker would also be a member of the Senior Committee which would oversee the decision-making rights around the fibre commitments and Chorus' fibre business plan when agreement could not be reached by the Steering Committee and the New Chorus Board, he said.
 

Crown Fibre Holdings chairman Simon Allen said Mr Walker was clearly a highly respected chairman and board member.

Chorus chairman designate Sue Sheldon said Mr Walker’s knowledge of corporate finance, investment and corporate governance at the most senior levels made him a high calibre chairman for this important role.

Mr Walker said he looked forward to contributing to a thriving competitive environment as UFB was rolled out.

“This appointment comes at a turning point in the New Zealand telecommunications marketplace.”