CEO takes leave of Sensis

Telstra's directory business, Sensis, has parted ways with CEO Bruce Akhurst.

Once lauded by ex-CEO Solomon Trujillo as superior to Google, Sensis has of late endured a steady decline in revenue and relevance as small business declined to renew their ads in Yellow Pages paper directories and instead sought out digital alternatives.

Sensis has been slow to develop digital products of its own and when it has they've not been hits. Even classifieds site Trading Post, which has deep integration with Telstra's BigPond and therefore access to millions of subscribers, has struggled to overcome the might of eBay and Gumtree.

Akhurst is said to have "stepped down" said said in a statemenet he's looking forward to exploring new opportunities.

Telstra CEO David Thodey thanked Akhurst for his seven years of service and said Rick Ellis will warm the seat until a replacement is found. Decode that as you please. ®