More BAI Communications appointments

Having last week announced the appointment of Michael Tessler to its board as a non-executive director, BAI Communications has followed up this week with news of the appointment of another new non-executive board member, Kathleen Abernathy, as well as a new Chief Financial Officer, Lorene Hunt.

Abernathy’s career highlights include appointment as a Commissioner of the US Federal Communications Commission in 2001, after being nominated by President George W Bush, followed by a board-of-directors position with Frontier Communications where she subsequently served as chief legal officer and executive vice president regulatory and government affairs.

Abernathy also chairs the ISO New England Board of Directors in the US and is a director of DISH Network and Somos in addition to her new appointment to the board of BAI.

“I am excited to be part of a team that is investing in the long-term growth opportunities being driven by 5G deployment, which will change how we live, work and play,” Abernathy said.

“My experience in the wireline and wireless sectors of the telecommunications industry positions me to provide strategic advice on external advocacy that will support and help ensure the success of BAI’s growth and expansion strategies as the company focuses on 5G opportunities.”

BAI’s board is chaired by Joan Gillman.

Lorene Hunt has been appointed by BAI Communications Australia as its Chief Financial Officer, joining BAI’s Australian leadership team and reporting directly to Chief Executive Officer Peter Lambourne.

“I am pleased to welcome Lorene — her extensive knowledge and hands-on experience across key financial disciplines will make an important contribution to BAI as we expand our service offering, accelerate growth and enhance value for our customers,” said Lambourne.

Hunt comes to BAI with significant financial experience across various industries. Before joining BAI, she served as commercial director at Optus. In that role, Lorene was heavily involved in setting the strategic direction of the Networks team as well as providing a lead role in driving commercial best practice.

Prior to Optus, Lorene undertook senior finance roles in a number of organisations in New Zealand, including head of finance at GlaxoSmithKline, where she was responsible for building the finance organisation and its business systems, functions and processes.

Hunt also worked for TelstraClear as group manager risk management, compliance, and financial services with responsibility for independent risk and compliance reviews of business areas and processes in addition to supporting the company’s financial strategy and planning.

“I am delighted to join BAI Communications,” Hunt said.

“BAI has unique strengths, a strong business model and a proud history. I look forward to working closely with my team to execute on the company’s strategic objectives and investment plans.”

Pictured: Kathleen Abernathy