BAI Communications appoints Deena Shiff to succeed Gerry Moriarty as Chair of its global board

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA, 5th May 2016: BAI Communications, a global leader in the design, build and operation of highly available communications networks, has today announced the appointment of Deena Shiff as the Chairperson of its board, effective 30 May.

Deena succeeds Gerry Moriarty AM, FTSE, FIEAust, FAICD who is retiring from the position after 14 years. Macquarie Group Limited appointed Mr Moriarty upon its purchase of the business in 2002.

Group CEO Jim Hassell paid tribute to Gerry’s contribution to the evolution of the BAI business from an Australian broadcast infrastructure business to a global communications company.

“During Gerry’s tenure as Chairman, the company has benefited greatly from his deep understanding of the broadcast and wider telecommunications markets. He has been instrumental in ensuring that Broadcast Australia has remained relevant to the needs of the local industry while expanding the global footprint of the company, now known as BAI Communications, as it diversified and expanded its presence into Hong Kong, North America and Europe. As Chairman, Gerry has consistently maintained a passionate commitment to both staff and customers and demonstrated an ability to deliver long term value for shareholders.”

“On behalf of BAI Communications I would like to extend my gratitude to Gerry for his enormous contribution as Chairman. I also congratulate Deena on her appointment. We are fortunate to have Deena’s vision and leadership as we move in to a new stage of growth,” Mr Hassell said.

Deena joined the BAI Communications board as Non-Executive Director in 2015. Deena also serves on the boards of Citadel Group Limited (ASX: CGL) and Appen Ltd (ASX: APL), as well as advising and serving on the boards of a number of private venture capital backed technology companies and a medical research CRC. She is also the Chair of the Sydney Writers Festival. In 2015, Deena was appointed to chair the Australian Government’s Rural Telecommunications Independent Review Committee. Her previous board roles include Deputy Chair of Efic, and directorships at IPscape, Dimmi, Telstra Clear NZ and Freightcorp Pty Ltd.

Deena was a senior executive at Telstra between 1998 and 2013. She has served as Head of Regulatory Affairs, Group Managing Director running Telstra Wholesale, Group Managing Director of Telstra Business, and prior to retiring from Telstra in 2013; Deena was the founding CEO of Telstra’s Venture Capital arm, Telstra Ventures. Before re-joining Telstra in 1998, Deena was a partner at law firm Mallesons Stephen Jacques.

Deena holds a B.Sc. (Economics) from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a Masters of Arts (Law) from the University of Cambridge. She is a Fellow of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

“It is an honour to follow the outstanding chairmanship of Gerry and to be able to reap the benefits of the strong culture and values he has embedded in the company,” she commented. “At a time when technology change and consumer consumption of content requires new thinking about the efficient use of underlying infrastructure, BAI Communications has an exciting future in Australia. The board is also very focussed on ensuring that our subway and confined space communications businesses in New York, Toronto and Hong Kong continue to lead the way for best practice wireless deployments for mass transit around the world.”