Russian operator Vimpelcom has appointed former Uninor CEO Yogesh Malik as its new group Chief Technology Officer.
Malik, who has been appointed to the group executive and group management boards, replaces Philip Tohme, who was appointed CEO of the operator’s Algerian business Djezzy in January.
The new CTO joins from Indian mobile network Uninor, which Telenor owns a majority stake in. He worked there between 2010 and 2013 and was Chief Operating Office before his appointment as CEO, with responsibility for technology, regulatory and customer care.
Jo Lunder, CEO of Vimpelcom, commented: “I am very pleased to welcome Yogesh Malik to our team. Yogesh is a highly experienced manager and technology leader with a track record of success in both mature and emerging markets, including in Bangladesh and Ukraine.”
Malik’s career includes stints as CTO of Grameenphone in Bangladesh, CTO of Kyivstar in Ukraine and Head of Technology and Sourcing at Telenor Group’s head office in Norway. He also worked for TIW, Tata/AT&T and Ericsson in the Czech Republic, Brazil, China and Canada.
Vimpelcom is currently suffering financially after making a loss of €1.9 billion in Q4 last year. The Netherlands-based operator has launched a transformation programme to “address current performance” and said it focused on cutting costs, improving customer experience and increasing network sharing.
[Read more: Ukraine and Canada writedowns see VimpelCom make €1 billion loss]
It also said that it wants to capitalise on areas such as mobile financial services and partnerships with Over-The-Top players.
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