Telekom Austria CEO Makes a Beeline for Russia

Telekom Austria has lost its CEO, Boris Nemsic to the Russia based telco,VimpelCom . He will be switching companies at the end of the month.  Nemsic, who has been CEO of Telekom Austria Group since 2006, has informed the chairing committee of the supervisory board of his resignation as of March 31, 2009.

"We have accepted the resignation of Boris Nemsic with regret. Under his leadership, Telekom Austria Group defended and secured its leading position in Austria despite fierce competition and set an international footprint with successful operations in seven more countries. I have trust that the management board of Telekom Austria Group will continue to successfully execute the strategy in place without interruption. The supervisory board will convene in due course to designate a successor as soon as possible," states Peter Michaelis, Head of the supervisory board of Telekom Austria Group.

"Although I am excited about my new role, I am sad to leave this great company which has been a central part of my life since 1997. Special thanks to all the employees and colleagues, many of which have become my friends, as together we have built the success story of the Telekom Austria Group," said Nemsic.

Operating under the Beeline brand, VimpelCom had 57.7 million mobile customers as of Q3 2008 and operates in seven countries, covering a total population of 340 million. VimpelCom had revenues of US$7.5 billion and an EBITDA of US$3.7 billion for the first nine months of 2008. The company offers mobile, fixed and broadband Internet.

Alexander Izosimov, the current CEO and General Director of VimpelCom will step down on 2nd April, but will remain with the Company in a non-executive role as part of the management transition.

Alexander Torbakov, currently at Russia's largest insurance company, Rosgosstrakh Life Insurance will take up the role of General Director of VimpelCom.

Posted to the site on 2nd March 2009