John Malone’s Liberty Global has appointed Betzalel Kenigsztein, managing director of subsidiary UPC Hungary, to the newly-created role of managing director for the Central and Eastern European region.
The move reflects the international cableco’s…
John Malone’s Liberty Global has appointed Betzalel Kenigsztein, managing director of subsidiary UPC Hungary, to the newly-created role of managing director for the Central and Eastern European region.
The move reflects the international cableco’s increased focus on the region.
In a statement today, Liberty said its recent acquisition of Virgin Media in the UK has significantly increased its size, requiring a “rebalancing” of the management structure.
In his new role effective 15 August, Kenigsztein will be responsible for the businesses in CEE countries such as Poland, Hungary, Romania, the Czech Republic and Slovakia as well as DTH activities in the region. He will report to the executive vice president of Liberty’s European broadband operations, Diederik Karsten.
“The announced change will enable the Central and Eastern European region to receive dedicated management attention, with a focus on the unique needs of the operations in the region,” the company stated.
“As these operations continue to benefit from the economies of scale within Liberty Global, this new focus will also allow the company to explore opportunities for more regional cooperation.”
In another key management change, UPC Romania managing director Severina Pascu will also head up UPC Hungary from 15 August, carrying out the roles simultaneously.
Karsten said Kenigsztein is ideally-placed to take on his new role, having 25 years’ experience in the cable sector and a strong track record at Liberty. He joined UPC Netherlands as CTO in 2004 and, in 2009, assumed his current role as head of UPC Hungary.
Meanwhile, Pascu has headed UPC Romania since 2011, before which she was the business’ CFO.
Liberty has operations in a total 14 countries. The cableco completed its takeover of Virgin Media in early June for US$23.3bn and now has its official domicile in the UK. Late last month, the company boosted its stake in Dutch cableco Ziggo from 18.2% to 28.5%.
