One New Zealand has appointed Kieran Byrne as its new chief technology officer after 14-year veteran Tony Baird announced he would step down.
The appointment is effective from October 1, with Baird transitioning into an advisory role from this date.
Baird, whose tenure included 11 years as CTO, said in a LinkedIn post: “After much personal reflection on what the right timing would be, I have decided to move fully into the telco and technology consultancy space and pursue other new opportunities.
“This will commence with several strategic projects for the benefit of One NZ and our owners Infratil and Morrison.”
The telco’s CTO position leads its mobile and fixed networks, cybersecurity, IT operations, and wholesale division.
One NZ’s new CTO Kieran Byrne.
Byrne joined then-Vodafone NZ in January 2021, spending three years leading technology commercial operations, and was most recently general manager of strategy and transformation. He was appointed a director of the Rural Connectivity Group in October 2023.
Prior to joining the company, he spent seven years as a management consultant for Bain and Company, specialising in telecommunications and working across Australasia, Asia, and Africa.
One New Zealand CEO Jason Paris said Byrne “is an engineer at heart and brings to the role expertise in setting and executing strategy, driving customer and commercial outcomes, and strengthening key partner relationships.
“He has deep industry knowledge and will be supported by an incredibly strong technical leadership team.
“While we are sad to see Tony depart the business, we know we are in great hands with Kieran at the helm.”
Baird noted his achievements in the role included winning the Best in Test mobile network for three years in a row, building international and domestic fibre networks, launching next-generation-critical communications for emergency services, scaling its wholesale division, separating from Vodafone Group and transitioning into a new ownership model, and being part of the creation of Eon Fibre.
This is supplied content and not commissioned or paid for by NBR.
