Another amigo says adios to Telstra

Telstra COO Greg Winn, one of Sol Trujillo’s famous amigos, is hitting the trail and heading back to Arizona.

The departure was announced on Telstra’s corporate website this morning and follows the repatriation of fellow amigo and former Telstra public relations chief Phil Burgess, for personal reasons, last August.

Widely respected for steering the business through important IT transformations, Winn is one of the few Telstra execs on mega-salaries who may prove worth it in the long run.

Interestingly, he won’t be replaced:

Mr Winn’s position as COO will not be filled.  Instead, most of his direct reports will report to Mr Trujillo.

While many are commenting that it’s odd for the post not to be re-filled, we think the reason is obvious.   It would probably take several months for Trujillo to locate and lock in his perfect replacement.  And if Trujillo himself wasn’t to remain at Telstra for many more months, would his successor be all that pleased to inherit the last amigo’s idea of the perfect COO ?