Telstra chairmanâs succession challenge with Andy Penn happy to commit As Telstra chief executive Andy Penn works on a new strategy for the $45 billion telco, his chairman John Mullen is facing an intriguing succession planning question. Jul 16, 2021 â 12.05pm Save Share Telstra chief executive Andy Penn has given the strongest indication yet that he wants to remain in charge of the company to oversee the execution of a new strategic plan. In an interview with Chanticleer, Penn says he is keen to lay out the new strategy later this year and âmake sure that we are on the right trajectory, whatever my future holdsâ.