Jean-Yves Charlier has been made CEO of Vimpelcom following the resignation of Jo Lunder.
Vimpelcom said Lunder, its CEO since 2011, was leaving to take up other opportunities, without going into detail.
Charlier was chairman and CEO of French mobile…
Jean-Yves Charlier has been made CEO of Vimpelcom following the resignation of Jo Lunder.
Vimpelcom said Lunder, its CEO since 2011, was leaving to take up other opportunities, without going into detail.
Charlier was chairman and CEO of French mobile operator SFR up until its sale to Numericable last year.
He moved to SFR from the carrier’s former parent, media conglomerate Vivendi, which he joined in 2012 to oversee its three international telecoms units – SFR, Maroc Telecom, and GVT – all of which have now been offloaded as part of a strategic shift.
Charlier became CEO of SFR in May 2013. Following the operator’s sale to Numericable he stepped down and took on a role overseeing the integration of the two companies, and advising Numericable-SFR’s ultimate owner, telecoms magnate Patrick Drahi.
Vimpelcom’s chairman, Alexey Reznikovich, said Charlier was a “proven leader with an excellent track record of driving business performance”.
“He steps onto a global platform with 222 million customers and Vimpelcom will benefit immensely from his strong experience of delivering customers’ digital, entertainment and communications needs wherever they live and work,” Reznikovich said.
“Jean-Yves is the right person to lead our company in the next stage of its development and at this exciting time of market opportunity, as we enter the digital world focusing on enhancing our customer relationships and providing innovative and exciting services across all of our markets.”
Commenting on Lunder, who has led the Russian-focused telco for four years, Reznikovich said: “Jo has been a most valuable contributor to our company and we thank him for his leadership during his many years of service with Vimpelcom, during which he has overseen a period of rapid growth and expansion.”
The Norwegian will continue to advise Amsterdam-based Vimpelcom during the transition period through to 13 July 2015.