are shareholders happy with this appointment?Melbourne,...

are shareholders happy with this appointment?


Melbourne, Australia, Monday 2nd July 2007: Freshtel Holdings (ASX.FRE) has named
former Telstra Victorian Businesswoman of the Year, and Novell Asia Pacific Chairman
Ms Rhonda O’Donnell as its new CEO.
Ms O’Donnell has been working with Freshtel in an advisory capacity for the past two
months.
Rhonda brings significant management and information and communication technology
(ICT) industry experience to Freshtel. She joined Novell in 2001 as President and CEO
of Novell Asia Pacific with responsibility for the management of Novell’s entire regional
operation spanning 13 markets and employing over 800 staff. She was a member of
the company’s Worldwide Management Committee.
Mr Ken Loughnan AO, Chairman of Freshtel said “The Freshtel board is absolutely
delighted to welcome Rhonda to the role of Chief Executive Officer of the Freshtel
Group. Over the past two months Rhonda demonstrated that she has the skills,
acumen and vision to take this company forward.
“Rhonda has a strong track record in growing and transforming companies, global
experience and deep government and industry connections that will bode well for
Freshtel as we continue to grow.”
Ms O’Donnell said “Freshtel’s technology and solutions have the potential to transform
the telecommunications industry as we know it. I am very excited by this opportunity
and look forward to using my skills to help this promising Australian company heighten
the impact it is having globally.”
Mr Loughnan added that the Board is confident that Freshtel is well positioned to
progress and deliver on its strategic growth plan.
“We have now delivered some of the critical areas of our strategic growth plan: we
have launched our next generation network V2 – a platform for our expansion in the UK
and Europe; signed a letter of intent with a European mobile company and appointed a
very capable leader.”
Ms O’Donnell will bring a wealth of business management experience to Freshtel. She
transformed Novell from a proprietary to an open source model throughout the APAC
region, and has driven new revenue growth over the past three years.
She was the architect behind Novell’s global strategy to capitalise on Linux and open
source technology in emerging markets and successfully led Novell’s expansion into
China and India. Novell became the leading supplier of Linux in China during the first
half of 2005.
Prior to joining Novell she was Managing Director of Cambridge Technology Partners,
which was acquired by Novell in 2001 and previous to this was Managing Director of
Global Customer Solutions (GCS), a subsidiary of TXU, one of the world's largest
energy utilities.
Ms O’Donnell is involved in a number of advisory boards and committees including the
Victorian Government's Innovation Economy Board, member of the Victorian
Government’s Purchasing Board (VGPB); and chairs the Vic ICT for Women Network,
a joint Victorian government and industry initiative.