After three years in charge, Farmside Chief Executive Tony Baird (pictured) has resigned to take up a role of Head of Networks and Operations at Vodafone.

Farmside said that while they look to fill the gap, Board Chairman Richie Smith will assume the role of Acting Chief Executive.

“Under Tony’s guidance Farmside has grown over 700% with a customer base of over 11,000 rural and urban New Zealanders. Tony has played a huge part in leading Farmside towards being New Zealand’s leading rural telecommunications provider and has himself been a strong champion for the rural sector,” smith said.

According to a study carried out by Vodafone that was released yesterday, close to three quarters of rural New Zealanders think that their youth are disadvantaged by the lack of access to broadband.