David Thodey, Telstra's group managing director of enterprise and government, was today appointed as the telco's CEO. Thodey's term begins as soon as current CEO Sol Trujillo departs.

Donald McGauchie, chairman of the Telstra board, has also resigned and will be replaced by current Telstra board director Catherine Livingstone.

According to a statement from Livingstone, "The board felt David has a unique combination of a fundamental grasp of technology and a deep appreciation of customer needs."

Thodey's selection ends months of speculation over who would replace Trujillo. Thodey has been a senior executive at Telstra since 2001 and was previously CEO of IBM's Australian and New Zealand operations.

Telstra also announced the resignation of board member and former James Hardie director Peter Willcox. The NSW Supreme Court ruled on 23 April that Willcox and nine other former James Hardie executives and directors had broken the Corporations Law, and it was feared that the judgement would "cause embarrassment to the company", according to a media release from Telstra.

Willcox will remain a Telstra director until the 2009 AGM, but will not stand for re-election.

The current Telstra chief financial officer, John Stanhope, has been appointed an executive director of the board.