Tesla has appointed Robyn Denholm as its new chairman, replacing Elon Musk who is a founder of the company, he had to resign from the position following SEC charges for fraud. But he will remain as Tesla’s CEO.
She will lead over Tesla’s board effective immediately and will leave her role as CFO and head of strategy at Telstra, the Australian telecommunications company, once her six-month notice period with Telstra is complete.
The new chairman Denholm said, “I believe in this company, I believe in its mission and I look forward to helping Elon and the Tesla team achieve sustainable profitability and drive long-term shareholder value.”
Elon Musk was sued in September for claims of misleading investors after posting a Tweet about taking the company private.
Ahead of a November 13 deadline as part of Tesla’s settlement with the SEC, which required Musk to resign as head of the board for three years, the new chairman announcement was made on Wednesday night.
To settle fraud charges related to his tweets on taking the company private, he had to step down from the role of the chair as it was a condition of the accord with the Securities and Exchange Commission in September.