Ms Berejiklian will be named managing director, enterprise, business, and institutional, a newly created position. Ms Berejiklian was a proven leader who displayed power, discipline, and composure during her stint as premier, according to Optus CEO Kelly Bayer Rosmarin.
Gladys Berejiklian has been hired to an executive job at telecommunications giant Optus, just months after resigning as NSW premier under a corruption inquiry.
Ms Rosmarin predicted that Ms Berejiklian’s new post would be a “game changer.” Ms Berejiklian expressed her delight in a statement, saying she was “thrilled” and intended to maintain the company’s “innovative leadership in the telco sector.”
Ms Berejiklian was Premier of New South Wales from January 2017 until she resigned and left parliament on October 1 last year, following an anti-corruption investigation into her personal life.
Ms Berejiklian’s behavior with a potential conflict of interest over her friendship with former Wagga Wagga MP Daryl Maguire was under investigation by the Independent Commission Against Corruption on the same day.
Following a hearing in November, the watchdog has failed to deliver its conclusions. During the ICAC’s Operation Keppel probe against the former MP, her “close personal contact” with him was revealed.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison openly courted Ms Berejiklian to compete for the seat of Warringah in the forthcoming federal election in December, but she rejected.
Ms Berejiklian allegedly exchanged text conversations to a federal cabinet minister in 2020 in which she allegedly dubbed Mr Morrison a “terrible person,” according to claimed text messages released last week.
Ms Berejiklian said she had “no recall” of sending the texts and that the Prime Minister had her complete support as leader in reaction to the reports.
Ms Berejiklian worked for Commonwealth Bank as a manager in young retail banking and government affairs before entering politics.
In 2003, the 51-year-old was elected to the state seat of Willoughby, which is located in Sydney’s northwestern suburbs.
Ms Berejiklian’s predecessors as premier, Barry O’Farrell and Mike Baird, appointed her as transport minister and treasurer, respectively.
