Russian mobile operator Vimpelcom Ltd has announced the appointment of current chairman Jo Lunder as its new CEO. He will replace Alexander V Izosimov, who has decided to step down as of June 30.
The supervisory board has unanimously proposed Augie K…
Russian mobile operator Vimpelcom Ltd has announced the appointment of current chairman Jo Lunder as its new CEO. He will replace Alexander V Izosimov, who has decided to step down as of June 30.
The supervisory board has unanimously proposed Augie K Fabela II, Vimpelcom’s co-founder and chairman emeritus, as the new chairman – subject to an election at the upcoming AGM.
The board has also recommended the election of the following to the board: Augie K Fabela II, Mikhail Fridman, Kjell-Morten Johnsen, Hans-Peter Kohlhammer, Oleg Malis, Leonid R Novoselsky, Alexey Reznikovich, Ole-Bjorn Sjulstad and Jan-Edvard Thygesen.
The AGM will take place on June 28.
Izosimov, who started at the company in 2003, is credited with guiding the company’s growth in Russia, CIS, Southeast Asia, Western Europe and Africa, as well as diversifying offerings into fixed-line and broadband services.
Jo Lunder has served as CEO and COO at various times between 1999 and 2003, when he became an independent director and chairman. Prior to that, he held various capacities at Norwegian incumbent Telenor.
Lunder commented: “I am looking forward to leading VimpelCom to new heights and to extracting maximum value for all of our shareholders by focusing on operational performance and our respective market positions, while improving OIBDA, cash flows and return on capital over the next several years.”
Fabela co-founded VimpelCom in 1992 and served as chairman until 2003. He led the company’s IPO on the NYSE in 1996, and brought Telenor and Alfa Group in as strategic shareholders. Since 2003, he has been chairman emeritus, advising the board and management on strategic issues, including the Wind Telecom combination.
Thanking Izosimov for his excellent work, Fabela said he looked forward to working closely with Jo Lunder: “Jo possesses insightful strategic vision, an in-depth understanding of global telecom trends, extensive global experience and an intimate knowledge of the Company.”
He added that he would work with the entire board to “best serve the interests of all our shareholders” following the merger of Wind Telecom into Vimpelcom.
