VimpelCom has hired former Telefonica Deutschland (O2) CEO Rene Schuster as its new group chief operating officer, effective from today.
Schuster stepped down from the top job at O2, which is awaiting regulatory clearance for its planned €8.6bn…
VimpelCom has hired former Telefonica Deutschland (O2) CEO Rene Schuster as its new group chief operating officer, effective from today.
Schuster stepped down from the top job at O2, which is awaiting regulatory clearance for its planned €8.6bn acquisition of mobile operator E-Plus, in a surprise move at the end of January after more than five years in the role. The reason for his departure was not disclosed.
At VimpelCom, Schuster will be directly responsible for the operational and financial performance of the business units. He succeeds Jan Edvard Thygesen, who is retiring.
VimpelCom group CEO Jo Lunder said Schuster has “an exceptional track record of achievement in telecoms and technology businesses, and we are fortunate that he will be joining us to lead our business units through the next phase in the development of VimpelCom”.
Before joining O2, Schuster was CEO of the UK and Irish operations of recruitment and managed service business Adecco. Previously he was the global marketing director of the Vodafone Group. He has also held senior roles with companies including Hewlett Packard, Compaq, KPMG, IBM and General Electric.
At O2, CFO Rachel Empey and CSO Markus Haas have led the management board since Schuster’s departure.