Communications Minister Paul Fletcher said on Monday afternoon that current chair of NBN Co Ziggy Switkowski will depart on January 1.

Taking the reins of the company responsible for the National Broadband Network will be Kate McKenzie, who was the CEO of New Zealand broadband wholesaler Chorus until the end of 2019.

"Of course, my one regret is I'd love to take the fantastic Chorus fibre network back home with me, but yeah, that's probably not going to happen," McKenzie said at the time.

Completing the board is Nerida Caesar, who also sits on Westpac's board, and was previously CEO of Equifax in Australia and New Zealand, as well as Telstra.

In effect, a former Telstra CEO in Switkowski is being replaced by a former Telstra COO, with a former Telstra enterprise chief joining the board.

"These appointments will add to the strength of the diverse leadership making up the board and will continue its focus on overseeing the transition of NBN Co to its operational phase following the completion of the network build," Fletcher said.

Switkowski was recently appointed chair of Crown Resorts, taking over from former Howard-era Communications Minister Helen Coonan, and stepped down as chancellor of RMIT after the National Tertiary Education Union called for him to resign.

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