Leadership team

Tarek Robbiati - Group Managing Director, Telstra International Group

Tarek Robbiati is Group Managing Director for Telstra International Group, based in Hong Kong. He was appointed into the role on 1 December 2009 and is also the Chairman of CSL which operates Hong Kong's first and largest mobile network. Tarek was previously the CEO of CSL.

Tarek has over 20 years experience in the telecommunications, finance, media and technology industries. As CSL’s CEO, he spearheaded and implemented strategies that saw CSL retain and strengthen its position as a market leader in arguably the most competitive mobile telecommunications market in the world.

Prior to taking up his appointment in Hong Kong, Tarek worked in Australia as the Deputy Chief Financial Officer of Telstra Corporation Limited from 2005 to 2007.

From 2003 to 2005, Tarek was Vice President and Head of Corporate Finance at Orange PCS in London where he oversaw Orange International Strategy, Business Development / M&A, Treasury, Investor Relations and Strategic Planning. Prior to that from 1999 to 2003, he worked as Vice President and senior equity research analyst in London with Lehman Brothers, in the number one ranked team for three consecutive years, and between 1989 to 1999, he worked as a senior manager with Accenture.

John Plas - Executive Director – Strategy, Business Development and Pricing, Telstra International Group

John Plas is Executive Director of Strategy, Business Development and Pricing for Telstra International Group based in Hong Kong, where he has fulfilled the role since July 2010. John is an experience telecoms professional who has worked in the Asia Pacific region, the US and Canadian telecommunications markets.

Prior to joining Telstra, John worked for Telstra Corporation in the Executive Director roles of Strategy, Pricing and Integration Planning. He has held financial and strategic management roles at AT&T, Qwest and US West and has also been a management consultant with Accenture specializing in the Communications and High Tech client portfolio in the areas of merger integration and the optimization of financial operations.

John holds a Bachelors Degree in Business from Ryerson University (Toronto) and an MBA from the University of Alberta (Edmonton).

Martijn Blanken - Chief Operating Officer, Telstra International Group

Martijn Blanken is Chief Operating Officer for Telstra International Group based in Hong Kong, where he is responsible for Telstra International Group’s global network, IT and operations, as well as the strategic planning and control of the group’s technology roadmap.

Martijn joined Telstra in 2009 and has led a major restructure program focused on growing the Network Applications and Services business. During this time, Telstra has strengthened its position in these markets significantly by achieving double digit growth for sales and simultaneously improving profitability.

Prior to joining Telstra, Martijn was the General Manager and Vice President, Asia Pacific and Japan for Openwave Systems. He has also held several senior positions at KPN Royal Dutch Telecom, most recently as Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the Managed Services and Outsourcing Division, and held non-executive board directorships for several KPN Royal Dutch Telecom joint ventures.

Martijn holds a MBA from the University of Groningen (Netherlands).

Leonie Valentine - Chief of Staff and Head of Corporate Communications, Telstra International Group

Leonie Valentine is Chief of Staff for Telstra International Group (TIG), based in Hong Kong, where she is primary aide and strategic communications advisor to the Group Managing Director, Tarek Robbiati. She is also Head of Corporate Communications for TIG, leading various strategic initiatives for key internal and external stakeholders.

Leonie has filled a number of senior leadership roles across Telstra since 2002, most recently as Director of Marketing for Telstra Enterprise and Government, based in Australia. She also held the position of General Manager, Customer Experience Marketing / Innovation Marketing for a period of five years.

Prior to joining Telstra, Leonie worked in business development roles at KAZ Technology Services, IntraCom Australia and MegaPrint Pacific, where she consistently exceeded sales and customer service targets.

Leonie holds an Executive Certificate of Business Administration from AGSE Swinburne University (Melbourne), a Masters Degree in Communication Management from the University of Technology (Sydney), and a Bachelor of Science from The University of Melbourne.

Paul Abfalter - General Counsel, Telstra International Group

Paul Abfalter is General Counsel for Telstra International Group, based in Hong Kong, where he manages a legal and regulatory team worldwide. He is responsible for advising on Telstra’s investments in over 15 countries which include mobile carrier CSL, a number of new media businesses, Telstra’s international managed services/connectivity business and Telstra’s global infrastructure assets.

Before joining Telstra, Paul was the General Counsel of CSL, Hong Kong’s leading mobile operator. He has also held a number of other senior leadership positions within the Telstra Legal Group, including responsibility for managing the legal team supporting Corporate Strategy and Mergers and Acquisitions for Telstra.

Paul holds a Bachelors degree in Economics and Law from the University of Adelaide.

Phil Mottram - Executive Director, Global Sales, Telstra International

Phil Mottram is Executive Director of Global Sales for Telstra International Group based in Hong Kong. With nearly 20 years experience in the telecommunications industry, he is responsible for overseeing and driving the company’s entire managed services and connectivity portfolio.  

Prior to joining Telstra International, Phil was the Director of Sales for British Telecom’s Openreach having been with the company in various senior executive sales positions over the past nine years.

Phil also held the role of European Sales Director for Sprint and spent seven years working in sales for AT&T.

Joseph O'Konek - Executive Director, Chief Executive Officer, CSL Limited

Joseph O'Konek is Chief Executive Officer for CSL Limited based in Hong Kong, where he oversees the operation of Hong Kong’s first and largest mobile network.

Joseph was previously Executive Vice President of 3S Network, Inc., a privately held wireless engineering firm based in Bellevue, WA. Prior to joining 3S, Joseph led the prepaid and convergence billing software product line for Nokia Siemens Networks in Munich, Germany as Global Head of Business Support Systems. He joined Nokia in 2005 in Espoo, Finland, as Global Practice Head for the Network Design and Service Management & Performance Consulting Practices. Before joining Nokia he served as COO and Interim CFO for Singlestep Technologies, an autonomic computer software company partnering with IBM, providing IT Network process automation software, based in Seattle.

Joseph has spent the past 29 years infusing teams with a passion for developing, marketing and delivering innovative products and services. His personal leadership, combined with strategic development, marketing, sales and operations expertise, has allowed him to take leading-edge products and services businesses from start-up phase to profitability.

Joseph holds a Masters degree in Education and Administration from National University (San Diego) and a Bachelors degree in Industrial Education from the University of Minnesota (Duluth).

Henry Hon - Chief Financial Officer, Telstra International Group

Henry Hon is Chief Financial Officer for Telstra International Group based in Hong Kong, where he is responsible for financial planning, reporting and analysis. Henry has overall responsibility for budgeting and financial management for Telstra International Group.

Prior to Telstra, Henry was Chief Financial Officer for Direct Marketing, Channels and General Business at IBM Corporation in Asia Pacific. Henry has also held the role of Chief Financial Officer at Morrison Express, a global logistics company.

Henry was Founder and President for business-to-business company, Music Zone which facilitated the sale and exchange of music over both wireless and conventional Internet.

Henry holds a Bachelors degree from The State University (New York) and an MSIA from Carnegie Mellon University.

Michelle Hsu - Director - Sales Operations, Telstra International Group

Michelle Hsu is the Director of Sales Operations Telstra International based in Hong Kong, where she is responsible for performance reporting of staff and tracking pipeline changes. She works closely with finance to analyze results and build forecasts, and is accountable for the implementation of the incentive scheme across the business and monitoring the global account management program.

Prior to joining Telstra, Michelle gathered experience through working at Verizon, MCI and FedEx. This background has given her over 10 years experience in the telecommunications industry.

Michelle joined Telstra International in 2003 and has progressed through the customer service team since being the first customer service employee appointed to support the Asian part of Telstra. There she supported more than 150 customers with a team of 28 which operated across five countries. In this team, Michelle was responsible for service delivery, service management, contract management, sales incentive and customer events for Telstra International in Asia.

Michelle holds a Bachelors degree in Information Technology from Hong Kong City University.

Michelle Seddon - Director - Human Resources, Telstra International Group

Michelle Seddon is the Director of Human Resources for Telstra International Group based in Hong Kong, where she is accountable for creating and implementing an effective and consistent HR framework in each region. This function supports the growth objectives of the business while being cost effective and pragmatic at the same time. She also focuses on building employee capability and promoting leadership development which supports the sustainable development of the business in the future.

Michelle has worked in HR as a specialist for half of her career (predominantly compensation and benefits), and the other half has been as an HR generalist. All roles have been regional or global in focus, including Australia/NZ, Asia, Europe and the US. She has lived and worked in Australia, the US and the UK.

Michelle has gained experience across a variety of industries including real estate, construction, engineering, financial services (retail and investment banking), IT and consulting.

Michelle holds a Bachelors degree in Economics and a Masters degree in Commerce.

Jim Clarke - Senior Vice President – Global Carrier Sales, Telstra International

Jim Clarke is Senior Vice President – Global Carrier Sales for Telstra International Group, based in Hong Kong. With over 13 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, he is responsible for driving sales strategy and business development for the Telstra International carrier team, across Asia, EMEA, Americas and Australia.

Prior to joining Telstra International, Jim was the Sales Director for Global Sales in Telstra Wholesale, a role he held for four years. In that position, Jim was successful in expanding the business relationships of existing customers, moving into new territories, as well as bringing in new business to Telstra Wholesale.

Before joining Telstra Wholesale, Jim spent four years at WorldCom International, based in London, where he managed the international wholesale pricing team for WorldCom’s EMEA business.

Peter Hobbs - Head of Global Voice and Satellite, Telstra International

Peter Hobbs is Head of Global Voice and Satellite Sales at Telstra International based in Sydney where he is responsible for the global voice relationships and business development within the global satellite and broadcasting markets.

Peter joined Telstra Corporation in 1999 and transferred into its joint venture, REACH in 2001 where he became Director EMEA Voice Business, until moving to Sydney in 2005 to take up the role of General Manager Global Sales for the voice business. The REACH transaction in March 2011 saw Peter return to Telstra to take up his current position.

Peter also worked at Telia as Product Manager for voice related services and Primus Telecommunications as Business Development Manager into the UK SME market focusing on the IT sector.

Peter holds a Bachelors degree in History, Politics and Philosophy from the University of Southampton (UK).

Darren Wilson - Director, Global Customer Service, Telstra International

Darren Wilson is Director of the Global Customer Service team, based in Sydney where he leads a virtual team across the globe. He is responsible for setting the strategy, culture and direction of the customer service functions that contribute to Telstra International’s overall strategic direction.

Darren is a professional engineer in telecommunications management with 24 years experience in the delivery and management of telecommunications products, projects and staff. He has extensive network design, operations and customer delivery experience. His leadership with the financial and project management of large and complex infrastructure deployments in the international arena has been integral to the success of Telstra International’s customer service.

Nathan Bell - Director, Products and Marketing, Telstra International

Nathan Bell is Director for Products and Marketing at Telstra International based in Singapore, where he is responsible for leading Telstra’s suite of global products and driving the company’s overarching marketing strategy.

The role comprises building the company’s product strategy, development, implementation, lifecycle management and partner integration, combined with overseeing all global brand and communication activities. 

With 14 years of experience, Nathan has held a number of senior leadership and sales positions in the Netherlands, Central and Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific at companies including AT&T, KPNQwest and BT, where he was instrumental in the growth of product portfolios, professional services and partnerships.

He joins Telstra from mobile software company Acision, where he was Vice President - Sales Operations and Channels for Asia Pacific, responsible for managing the company’s go-to-market strategy, indirect channels and business support functions.

Nathan holds a Bachelor of Arts in European Studies from the University of Kent.