From fixing Vodafail to running TPG: Berroeta’s race to the big league – Sydney Morning Herald

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An unlikely conversation with a customs officer at Sydney International Airport gave Iñaki Berroeta a first taste of his new Australian life in early 2014.
With his wife and two daughters still in Romania, Berroeta had flown solo with his luggage and a mountain bike to start his new role as chief executive of Vodafone Hutchison Australia.
To say Vodafones local operations were a mess before his arrival would be an understatement. The telco providers mobile phone signals cut out so frequently that the #vodafail tag was regularly trending. Customers were leaving in droves.
When you arrive with a mountain bike they usually want to check that you dont have any mud on tyres, Berroeta recalls. This customs officer was looking to see if the bicycle was clean and then he asked me what I was going to be doing in Australia and I told him that I was going to be running Vodafone.
The guy said good luck with that.
Inaki Berroeta is about to take on his biggest challenge yet.Credit:Renee Nowytarger
Berroeta knew he had a tough job back then. But next week things arguably get harder when TPG Telecoms $15 billion merger with Vodafone becomes official in the midst of a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic. For the first time there will be a third telco player with the scale to actually compete with Optus and Telstra. The stakes couldnt be higher.
Im first day of school nervous, he says from the companys North Sydney office where he sits in front of a red please sit here social distancing sign. When you do something for the first time you get that kind of rush of excitement and nervousness.
Smooth operator
Berroeta did not expect that his attempt to combine Vodafone with TPG would lead him to the witness stand in Federal Court. He also did not expect that the merger would end up taking place during the coronavirus. But Berroeta’s predecessor at Vodafone, Bill Morrow, says he couldnt think of anyone better to lead a new-look TPG Telecom.
He stands on his own principles, hes got a nice balance of business acumen with people orientation, hes customer-focused and hes a fierce competitor, Morrow says. But the thing I enjoy the most is his no nonsense, non-emotional view on things in life.
Born in Bilbao, Spain in 1967, Berroeta has always enjoyed living away from home. Since spending his senior year of high school in Idaho, he has lived in Malta where he ran Vodafone until 2010, Romania and other parts of the US.
Its not about Inaki, its about what is the right thing to do to succeed. He has his ego in check.
Bill Morrow, former CEO of Vodafone Hutchison Australia
The reason why Ive worked in many countries over the years is not just professional. The thing that is also very attractive to me is the idea of living in a different place and understanding a different culture and visiting places, he says.
One thing that is very important when you go to new places is how much you observe before you make your conclusions. Every country that you go has different unwritten protocols and ways of things, and companies are a bit the same.
Berroeta was always fascinated with computers and technology. After finishing high school he attended the Bilbao Superior School of Telecommunications Engineering and received a master of science in telecommunications before receiving a master of business administration from Henley Management College. In his university years, the telco industry was in its infancy but as devices such as mobile phones became popular, Berroeta became fascinated by how technology could shape the way people live.
His first personal phone, a Siemens S55, was a sign of the rapidly changing industry that he wanted to be a part of.
A mechanic at heart
As a child, Berroeta spent hours in the garage with his grandfather, who worked for Pirelli, fixing broken, old cars.
I still tinker around in my garage, he says. It is relaxing and at the end of the day it is something that you do with your hands. I also like to learn so I don’t have any formal training on mechanics. I did take a few courses but it’s something that I also like to learn by myself.
His long-held love of restoration of cars like a 1967 Alfa Giulia Super is reflected in his professional life. He likes fixing things, Morrow says. He doesnt want the

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