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Jan Edvard Thygesen appointed Deputy CEO and COO in VimpelCom Ltd.

Press release
Fornebu
4 minute read
Press Release
VimpelCom Ltd. today announced that Mr. Jan Edvard Thygesen is appointed the company's Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer (COO) and that he will take up the new position from January 1st 2012. Following the announcement, Mr. Thygesen will with immediate effect resign from the position as Executive Vice President (EVP) and Head of the CEE region in Telenor. Mr. Bjørn Magnus Kopperud will be acting head of the CEE region from the same date.

Jan Edvard Thygesen (born in 1951) is Master of Science in Electronics and Telecommunications from the Norwegian Institute of Technology and has been with Telenor since 1970. He has held a number of leading positions within the fixed and mobile areas and has been a crucial and major force in the development of both the fixed and mobile operations in Norway. Mr. Thygesen has headed Telenor's Danish mobile operations (previously Sonofon, now Telenor Denmark) and has had a major responsibility for the Nordic mobile operations when he served as the Head of Nordic Mobile. He has been instrumental in the development of Telenor's Irish mobile venture Esat Digifone and he headed Telenor's international operations through Telenor Invest AS, the expansion tool for Telenor in the mid 90s. Since 1999 he has been a member of the Telenor Group Executive Management and has since 2006 headed Telenor's Central and East European operations. In addition to the responsibility for the CEE companies, Thygesen sits on the Supervisory Board of VimpelCom Ltd, Telenor's Indian mobile operation Uninor and on the Board of DiGi, Malaysia.


"Jan Edvard has played a key role in the success of Telenor over nearly four decades and it is with mixed emotions we see him embark on this new opportunity. He will be missed in Telenor, but we are pleased on behalf of VimpelCom. He has broad experience from nearly all fields of the telecom industry. Combined with his ability to keep learning and continuously develop his market insights, he brings essential competences to his new role and I am confident of his continued success," said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor Group.



Industrial and operational focus


Since its initial investment in 1998, Telenor has been instrumental in securing the growth of VimpelCom into its current position as a large multinational telecom operator. Following the Wind acquisition, Telenor has communicated the need for strengthening the operational focus of VimpelCom and for safeguarding the strong position in the Russian market.


"Jan Edvard will be a reinforcement to the management team of VimpelCom Ltd. and I expect him to contribute greatly to the operational focus and to the future results of the company. I look forward to following his progress and congratulate him on his new endeavor," said Jon Fredrik Baksaas, President and CEO of Telenor Group.


For further information, please contact


Dag Melgaard, Communication Manager, Telenor Group Communications, tel: +47 901 92 000, email: dag.melgaard@telenor.com