Amid speculation that Swedish telco Tele2 could exit Russia or team up with another operator in the market, the company has named Jere Calmes as the new CEO of its Russian unit.
In preparation for starting his new role on 11 February, Calmes has stepped…
Amid speculation that Swedish telco Tele2 could exit Russia or team up with another operator in the market, the company has named Jere Calmes as the new CEO of its Russian unit.
In preparation for starting his new role on 11 February, Calmes has stepped down as a non-executive director of the Tele2 board, a role he has held since May 2008.
Calmes succeeds Dmitry Strashnov, who left the company in December last year after four years as CEO. Mamuka Markhulia has served as acting CEO.
Calmes has previously worked in Russia as president and CEO of Pharmacy Chain 36.6 and executive vice president and general manager for VimpelCom Moscow. He has also held senior management roles with Wind Telecommunicazioni, Mobinil and Motorola.
Commenting on the appointment, Tele2 president and CEO Mats Granryd noted that the Russian unit services the group’s largest market, making its future success “crucial”.
“Many exciting opportunities and challenges lie ahead so having Jeres’s experience and knowledge as a part of my Leadership team will be a tremendous resource for Tele2’s future achievements in Russia.”
Reporting its results for the fourth quarter of 2012 today, Granryd said the Russian unit performed well, growing its subscriber base at a “satisfactory” level. However, he noted that several of the group’s established markets, notably Russia and Sweden, are reaching maturity.
Commenting on the Russian market, he said: “We intend to be even more competitive on price and launch our newest regions in an efficient manner, which will affect the general business in the short term, with increased marketing and network development costs in our 2G only services,” he said. “This underscores our strong belief in many more years of robust development in our Russian operations.”
Tele2 Russia has about 20.2 million subscribers across 43 Russian regions. It is the nation’s fourth largest mobile operator in terms of subscriber numbers and revenue.
The business posted EBITDA for the fourth quarter of SEK1.243b (US$196.1m) and an EBITDA margin of 37%, down from 40% the previous year.
Russia’s three largest mobile operators are MTS, MegaFon and VimpelCom. All three were awarded licences at last year’s 4G auction, while Tele2 missed out. In December last year, Konstantin Malofeev, a key shareholder in Russian telco Rostelecom suggested Rostelecom should acquire its smaller rival. Earlier, MegaFon was also linked with Tele2 Russia.
