Sweden’s TeliaSonera has promoted Erik Hallberg, president of its International Carrier fibre unit, to head Eurasia as the telecoms giant reorganises to improve corporate governance. Hallberg replaces Veysel Aral only a few months after he was…
Sweden’s TeliaSonera has promoted Erik Hallberg, president of its International Carrier fibre unit, to head Eurasia as the telecoms giant reorganises to improve corporate governance.
Hallberg replaces Veysel Aral only a few months after he was appointed to succeed Tero Kivisaari, who left following an internal review that criticised a lack of due diligence over an Uzbek 3G licence deal in 2007.
The telco said today it is still looking to fill a strategy and business development role under its incoming 12-member executive team, which will be finalised on 1 April. It is also looking for a head of commercial as it reorganises operations along geographic, rather than business, lines. The changes will see the company’s structure grouped in three areas: Europe, Eurasia and Sweden.
Malin Frenning, current head of broadband services, has been appointed president of Sweden. Robert Andersson, head of Finland, has been appointed president of Europe.
Their appointments follow a raft of board changes that have been made throughout the year after the scandal in Uzbekistan.
They include the appointment of Christian Luiga, former head of the group’s CEO office, as acting CFO following the departure of Per-Arne Blomquist.
Blomquist was among four senior employees to leave last month when chairman Marie Ehrling said they no longer had the trust of the board.
Commenting on the company’s reorganisation, TeliaSonera CEO Johan Dennelind, who replaced Lars Nyberg earlier this year, said: “The countries will be the leading dimension in this new operating model, which is where we interact with the customers. We remove the business area layer from the existing organisation. Instead we strengthen the local operations and the mandate for group functions to drive strategic questions and improve governance.
“We believe this model will enable us to offer our customers a better service at the same time as it clarifies accountability for our performance.”
In a call with analysts in late November, Dennelind revealed the telco had uncovered ethical issues in Eurasia outside of Uzbekistan.
Norton Rose Fulbright is continuing to review partners and the deals that TeliaSonera has made across Eurasia in the past few years.
A separate review by Swedish law firm Mannheimer Swartling found nothing to support allegations that the telco committed bribery or participated in money laundering in Uzbekistan.
