Former Optus boss to lead Vocus

Vocus Communications has appointed former Optus boss Kevin Russell as managing director and chief executive, three months after Geoff Horth quit the broadband provider in the wake of an earnings warning.

Mr Russell, who has also been Telstra's retail group executive and led UK provider Hutchison Three through a successful turnaround, will take charge next week.

Michael Simmons has been leading Vocus as interim chief executive since February, when Mr Horth left after the telco posted a sharp fall in first-half profit and cut its outlook for underlying earnings.

Chairman Bob Mansfield, a former Telstra chairman who took on the role at Vocus when Vaughan Bowen stepped down in March, said Mr Russell was a highly experienced and respected CEO.

"He has an excellent mix of skills and the demonstrated strategic ability to improve business performance," Mr Mansfield said.

"The board is very pleased that Kevin will be 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."

Shares in Vocus, which owns the iPrimus and Dodo brands, have lost about 75 per cent of their value in the past two years.

Mr Simmons will return to his previous role as chief executive of the enterprise and wholesale unit.