Telenor officially takes over Serbian Mobi 63 and announces its new CEO
"We are proud to announce the completion of our acquisition of Mobi 63 and the commencement of our operations in the strategically important Serbian market. At the same time, Telenor would like to congratulate the Serbian Government on the very professional and transparently handled bidding and auction process. To demonstrate our firm dedication to our Serbian operations, we are pleased to announce our new management team, to be headed by CEO Stein Erik Vellan. This carefully selected, highly competent and internationally experienced management team, bring the best of Telenor's top executives from across our existing operations in Europe to cooperate with the well-run existing Serbian organisation in creating a first class mobile operator for Serbia," says Executive Vice President and Head of Telenor's Central and Eastern operations, Mr. Jan Edvard Thygesen.
Telenor acquired 100 per cent of Mobi 63 after an auction in Serbia on 31 July this year for a total of EUR 1,513 million. The acquisition implies a 10-year licence for GSM 900/1800 and 3G operation for the company, subsequently renewable for a successive 10 year period on application.
"We have our roots in Norway, but we consider ourselves to be a truly international organisation, providing world-class communications services to our customers - who now number close to 100 million across 13 countries. We will utilise our experience from the Telenor Group to enhance our Serbian company's performance and secure the best possible mobile services for our Serbian customers. Telenor aims to be a driving force in the Serbian mobile market and will continue our long tradition of offering products and service solutions that are relevant to our customers. From today we will be focussed on improving services, products, marketing, network and coverage to meet the needs of the Serbian market," concludes Mr. Jan Edvard Thygesen.
The company will be branded Telenor.
The new management consists of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Stein Erik Vellan from Telenor in Norway, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Gábor Kocsis from Pannon in Hungary, Chief Human Relations Officer (CHRO) Kerstin Thulin from Telenor in Norway, Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) David Meneghello from Vodafone in the Czech Republic, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) Ãystein Mikkelsen from VimpelCom in Russia, Director PR & Communications Sandra Stajner from Mobi 63 in Serbia, and Chief of Corporate Affairs (CCA) Christopher Laska from Telenor in Central Europe.
CEO Stein-Erik Vellan comes fromthe position of Vice President in Telenor and has for the past year headed Telenor's sales and marketing division in the Norwegian business market. The division employs 1,100 people and has a turnover of NOK 10.6 billion (approx EUR 1.3 billion). Before joining Telenor as a Sales Director in 2001, Mr. Vellan was CEO of The Thrane Group. From 1993 until 2000 he worked with Cap Gemini as Group Marketing Director both in Norway and internationally, from his base in Paris. Mr. Vellan has been and is a board member of various Norwegian companies. He holds a degree in marketing from the Norwegian School of Management. A former basketball player, Mr. Vellan has played on the Norwegian national team for several years.
Further information:
Vice President Corporate Communications
Telenor ASA, Kai Rosenberg, tel: (+47) 915 54 357
Ljiljana Ilic, Mmd, Corporate
Public Affairs & Public Relations Consultants, tel: +381 64 64 14 954