The Telstra Corporation Ltd (ASX: TLS) share price may have ended the day slightly in the red on Thursday, but it still outperformed the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO).
Telstra shares fell 0.5% today to close at $3.95. However, the ASX 200 fell 2.02% today. For perspective, the S&P/ASX 200 Communication Services Index (ASX: XTJ) slid 1% today.
Let's take a look at the latest from Telstra.
New CEO
Telstra's new CEO Vicki Brady has taken over the top job today. She steps up from the role of chief financial officer, a position she held since July 2019. Brady has been working with Telstra since 2016.
On her first day in the new job, Brady said: "I couldn't be happier or prouder to lead a team with such a special spirit that delivers so much to Australians and increasingly globally."
Brady's focus will be on driving Telstra's T25 strategy. She said, "our best days are ahead of us", commenting:
We've got a lot of work to do: building on the good work we've already done to deliver T25, and really making sure that Telstra is a great place for our customers.
I couldn't think of a better way to start this day than at Telstra Vantage, where we are bringing together our enterprise customers and our technology partners to explore new ways to innovate and grow in the new world.
Meanwhile, international division head Oliver Camplin-Warner has hinted Telstra may be looking at expanding to Latin America. However, no formal plans have been announced at this stage.
Speaking at a media round table at Telstra Vantage in Sydney, Camplin-Warner said:
We're currently having conversations around Latin America, potentially. We have local resources on the ground.
Last week I was with a team in America. We have experts that just get that world – they understand the landscape, considerations, the regulatory side. So they're really great at qualifying new markets, countries, in or out.
On Thursday, Telstra announced Brad Whitcomb will take over as the new executive for consumer and small business on 16 January. Whitcomb will leave NBN Co to work for Telstra. He takes over from Michael Ackland, who is stepping up to chief financial officer.
Andy Penn finished up as Telstra CEO on Wednesday. On his last day, Penn said he was "very sad to leave" but also "very proud of what we've achieved over the last seven years".
He highlighted Telstra is a "very different company today to that which it was previously", adding:
We have simplified the business, we've digitised the business, the number of complaints has more than halved, we've improved the financial trajectory of the business, and we are delivering some great technology solutions.
Telstra share price snapshot
The Telstra share price has climbed 1.5% in the past year, while it has shed 5.5% in the year to date.
In the past month, Telstra shares have lifted 1.5%.
Telstra has a market capitalisation of $45.6 billion based on the current share price.
