Telstra CEO Sol Trujillo will leave the company on June 30 after four controversial years at the helm.
Trujillo will return to the US after his tenure, Telstra announced yesterday, confirming weeks of speculation.
Trujillo is the last of the remaining "three amigos" still working at Telstra - COO Greg Winn left in January and PR chief Phil Burgess resigned last August.
After joining in 2005 to replace Ziggy Switkowski, Trujillo swung the axe on a number of business units and is seen as providing more focus to the company as it searched for fresh revenue streams. But he drew critics, too, with his combative approach to regulators and the national government.
Telstra chairman Donald McGauchie said the carrier will have found a new CEO by the time Trujillo leaves. Analysts believe Telstra will choose an external candidate.
Separately, Telstra reported that interim profit fell 1% to A$1.92 billion ($1.24 billion), even as revenue rose 3.2% to A$12.6 billion.
Telstra said results had been affected by reduced calling volumes due to the economic crisis and significant one-off costs such as the Victorian bushfires and Queensland floods, a company spokesperson said. As a result, Telstra has downgraded its forecast EBIT growth 3% to a range of 3-5%.
Telstra's shares on the Australian Stock Exchange fell 1.8% to A$3.70 following the announcements.