Vimpelcom has appointed an emerging markets chief to oversee its operations in Algeria, Pakistan and Bangladesh, following a year of asset management and local CEO appointments at the Global Telecom Holding (GTH) businesses acquired from Orascom in 2011.
Russia-based mobile operator Vimpelcom (NASDAQ:
Eddy joins from Telenor-owned dtac, Thailand’s number two mobile operator, where he was CEO. Other previous roles include CEO of Telenor Pakistan, COO of Malaysia’s Maxis Mobile and CTO of Malaysia’s Digi Telecom. He holds a BSc in electrical engineering from Montana State University.
According to Charlier, “As we transform VimpelCom into a digital and customer-centric leader, Jon will play a pivotal role in driving the transformation and growth of our businesses in Algeria [Djezzy], Pakistan [Mobilink], and Bangladesh [Banglalink]. Jon has a deep knowledge of emerging markets and will build on his experience in growing telecommunications businesses, especially in new strategic segments such as data and financial services.”
Over the past year, Vimpelcom has sought to tidy up its emerging assets, replacing the leadership at two of them.
In November, Vimpelcom agreed to merge its Mobilink with that of number five player Warid. A week before that, it exited the politically challenging Zimbabwean market by agreeing to sell Telcel to state-owned ISP Zarnet. Last January, it agreed to sell 51% of Djezzy in Algeria to the government, marking an end to a long-running dispute with the state.
Asked in late November about its plans for Bangladesh, a company spokesperson told TelecomFinance it is one of its key assets: “We plan to develop our business in this country in line with our strategy, focusing on the best customer experience and developing data and mobile financial services.”
Other recent appointments include Erik Aas as CEO of Banglalink in Bangladesh, Ghada Gebara as CEO of Djezzy in Algeria and Alexandr Komarov as CEO of Kazakhstan.
Key developments in other markets include an agreed €21.8bn joint venture between Vimpelcom’s Italian business, Wind, with 3 Italia, and the possibility of an IPO of its towers in Russia and the CIS as part of the company’s new asset-light strategy.
In the meantime, 33% shareholder Telenor has announced plans to exit its entire “challenging” investment, following years of disagreements with fellow shareholder Alfa Group and corruption allegations involving Vimpelcom’s business in Uzbekistan.
Vimpelcom claims to have 217 million customers across 14 markets: Russia, Italy, Algeria, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Georgia, Laos, and Zimbabwe.
