The launch will see Jesper Hansen, currently CEO of Telenor Denmark, moving to join the Nordic Hub as COO, effective 1 August.
Hansen will be succeeded by Lars Thomsen (acting head of commercial and strategy), who will step down from Telenor’s group executive management team to take on the CEO role in his native country, Denmark.
Anne Kvam, head of corporate affairs, will also step out of Telenor’s group executive management team to take responsibility for the launch of Telenor’s CSR strategy for climate, announced at its Capital Market Day in March.
“With a strong presence in the four Nordic markets we are pursuing further growth opportunities across the region, through best-practice sharing, resource pooling and scaling of innovative products and solutions. This will increase customer value and improve the overall quality, service and experience in all Nordic markets,” said EVP Jukka Leinonen (pictured), who will continue in his role as head of the Nordics and CEO of DNA in Finland.
Telenor said that, working closely with the company’s Nordic CEOs, the Nordic Hub team will facilitate greater collaboration across the region, “fostering growth and competitiveness”. Further, the new management team will be 43% female, exceeding Telenor’s own 35% target.
The news comes after Telenor merged its clusters in Asia and launched a new hub in the region, headed by Jørgen C. Arentz Rostrup.
“These steps help to ensure that we are fit for the future, ready to uncover new growth, and at all times keeping our increasingly advanced customers connected to what matters most,” said Sigve Brekke, president and CEO for Telenor Group.
“We will modify the group executive management structure for Telenor, effective 1 June, in order to reflect a focused and streamlined organisation, designed to support our strategic ambitions for growth, modernisation and responsible business,” added Brekke.
“With these changes, we will have 43% women in the executive management, exceeding our 35% target, as well as three nationalities. We will continue working on increased diversity in all levels of our organisation, and this is another step in the right direction.”
The team will work to strengthen Telenor’s “key areas” for business, with the full line-up to include: Sigve Brekke, president and CEO; Tone H. Bachke, EVP and CFO; Cecilie B. Heuch, EVP and chief people and sustainability officer; Ruza Sabanovic, EVP and CTO; Jørgen C. Arentz Rostrup, EVP, head of Asia; Jukka Leinonen – EVP and head of Nordics; and Petter Børre Furberg, EVP and CEO of Telenor Norway.
