Telecom Services

VEON goes for lean structure with two CEOs resigning

February 15, 2018

Telecom operator VEON announced the resignation of two CEOs and changes to its management structure aimed at creating a lean organization.

ALSO READ: Latest news from Mobile World Congress 2018

Amsterdam-headquartered VEON, which has more than 240 million customers, said Jon Eddy, head of Emerging Markets and Mikhail Gerchuk, head of Eurasia, will be stepping down. The company has identified CEOs of its regional units to head both Eurasia and emerging markets.

The strategy of VEON is to identify local representatives, who are more closer to their markets, to head emerging markets and Eurasia.

VEON earlier said revenue for Q3 2017 increased 4 percent to $2.5 billion — driven by revenue growth in Russia, Pakistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan. VEON is facing pressure in telecom markets such as Algeria and Bangladesh.

Mobile data revenue of VEON grew 26.6 percent, with mobile customers increasing 2.3 percent to 211 million, primarily driven by Russia, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Ukraine.

Aamir Hafeez Ibrahim, chief executive officer of Jazz Pakistan, will also serve as the company’s head of Emerging Markets.

Peter Chernyshov, chief executive officer of Kyivstar Ukraine, will also serve as VEON’s head of Eurasia.

VEON said Aamir Hafeez Ibrahim will oversee VEON’s businesses in Algeria, Bangladesh and Pakistan while remaining CEO of Jazz, where he executed the Mobilink and Warid integration and has demonstrated strong operational results.

Prior to joining Jazz, Aamir was a senior vice president at Telenor, leading transformation and distribution initiatives across Asia. Aamir previously held senior leadership positions at Ford, Jaguar and Land Rover.

Peter Chernyshov will oversee VEON’s businesses in Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan while remaining CEO of Kyivstar, one of the most successful operating companies in VEON’s portfolio.

Both Aamir and Peter will report directly to Jean-Yves Charlier, VEON’s chief executive officer, and will be part of the company’s senior executive management team.