NBN Co CEO Mike Quigley announced that he will retire from corporate life after four years leading the team that is building and operating Australia’s National Broadband Network.

Quigley, who came out of retirement to become NBN Co’s founding CEO, said: “My job was to lay the foundations for the NBN for the next 30 years. That job is largely complete. NBN Co is now a well-established wholesale telecommunications company with a nationwide workforce, delivery partners, infrastructure agreements, complex IT systems and more than 40 retail customers which are supplying fast, reliable and affordable broadband to a growing number of Australians.

“The role of the next CEO will be to build on these foundations. It is now critical that we further strengthen our partnerships across the construction and telecommunications industries, as we escalate the build of the network and work closely with our retail customers to ensure a smooth migration of families and businesses to the NBN. 

“I joined NBN Co because I believed better telecommunications was central to Australia’s ongoing success. I still believe that today. The ramp-up in construction and the news last week that the company had passed more than 200,000 premises with fibre gives me further confidence that the NBN build can be delivered by 2021 in line with the projections in the company’s Corporate Plan.”

Responding to Quigley’s announcement, NBN Co Chairman Siobhan McKenna said:  “NBN Co has been fortunate to have Mike as Chief Executive over the past four years. His intellect, tenacity and knowledge of telecommunications products and network architecture have taken NBN Co from a policy vision to a successful operating entity.

“The Directors are proud of Mike’s achievements and welcome his decision to remain in post to ensure a smooth transition to his successor.”