Primus Telecom has been left to secure a new chief executive after Ravi Bhatia announced his surprise resignation from the post.

 

Mr Bhatia has left the group to “pursue other professional interests” according to Primus Telecom Group Incorporated (PTGi).

 

PTGi chairman Peter Aquino has said the company hopes to find a replacement for Mr Bhatia before the end of the third quarter while praising the accomplishments of the outgoing CEO.

 

"Ravi Bhatia is a pioneer and highly respected executive in the Australian telecommunications market. Through skillful leadership, and innovation, he has been the driving force behind building this unit into one of the country’s largest full-service voice and data carriers with an established national brand," Mr Aquino said.

 

"Through skilful leadership and innovation, he has been the driving force behind building this unit into one of the country's largest full-service voice and data carriers with an established national brand”.

 

Mr Bhatia has worked with the company he helped set up its Australian operations for 16 years and is broadly considered to be one of the key figures in breaking the duopoly between Optus and Telstra while also steering the company out of Chapter 11 insolvency.

 

Mr Bhatia has expressed his confidence in Australia’s National Broadband Network, saying that the scheme offers a lot of opportunity.

 

Primus’ parent company, PTGi has announced that Richard Baumfield will take over the position as caretaker CEO while the company searches for a replacement.