Vimpelcom, the Russia-based service provider, has named Jan Edvard Thygesen its new chief operating officer and deputy CEO, effective Jan. 1, 2012. Thygesen makes the move from Telenor, where he currently serves as executive vice president and head of Central and Eastern European operations.
Khaled Bichara, president and COO of VimpelCom, is stepping down following his successful efforts in the post-acquisition integration of the operations of VimpelCom and Wind Telecom.
"Jan Edvard knows VimpelCom well, having served as a member of our board," said Jo Lunder, VimpelCom Group CEO. "He has extensive operational experience in all aspects of the telecom industry, which will help us deliver on our new strategy and further operational excellence throughout the company. With Jan Edvard as a member of our senior executive team, I am very positive about our future and believe that we have both the right strategy and the right management in place to create shareholders value in VimpelCom by increased focus on profitable growth, operational excellence and capital efficiency."
