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Andrew Penn: Recent CEO, Telstra
Episode description
Published 24th September, 2025.
Episode #225 of The High Flyers Podcast features Andy Penn, Recent CEO of Telstra (2015–2022) and Group CEO of AXA Asia Pacific. Today, he chairs Visit Victoria, sits on the Coles board, and advises Government on cybersecurity and national security.
In this conversation, Andy reflects on dropping out of high school and working two jobs before studying nights and weekends to complete his MBA, moving to Australia with AXA and learning empathy through global cultures, leading Telstra’s $30B transformation and 5G rollout, and building calm leadership under public scrutiny while balancing family life. He shares crucible moments, lessons from Kafka, his rituals for performance reviews and carrying bad news, and life today with art, painting, Spanish lessons and a home in Mexico.
It’s time to explore your curiosity. Please enjoy.
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Hosted by Vidit Agarwal, Founder of Curiosity Center and The High Flyers Podcast.
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About us
The High Flyers Podcast is a "meticulously researched biography" that uncovers the untold stories of remarkable people and companies—redefining what it means to be a high flyer. Launched in 2020, it has ranked in the global top ten for past two years, with listeners in 27 countries and over 200 episodes released. A flagship product of the Curiosity Center, it has been featured in Forbes, Daily Telegraph, and at SXSW, offering raw, relatable insights from childhood to career, helping listeners become 1% better every day.
Some of the notable guests on the show include: Anil Sabharwal (He built/led Google Photos,
Google Chrome and Google Drive), Malcolm Turnbull (Former Australian Prime Minister),
Holly Kramer (Board Director at Woolworths and ANZ), Brad Banducci (Recent Woolworths
CEO), Jack Zhang (Airwallex CEO and Co-Founder), Craig Tiley (Tennis Australia CEO), Elena Verna (Head of Growth at Lovable) and more.
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