Ursula Burns, chairwoman of Russian telecommunications company Veon has been appointed as the CEO of the company effective immediately.
Burns has served as Chairman of the VEON Board of Directors since July 2017 and as Executive Chairman since March 2018, during which time she has successfully introduced a simplified corporate structure including a leaner operating model along with an increased focus on emerging markets.
She was Chairman of the Board of the Xerox Corporation from 2010 to 2017 and Chief Executive Officer from 2009 to 2016. She is a director of the boards of American Express, Exxon Mobil, Nestlé and Uber.
Burns holds a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Columbia University and a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from Polytechnic Institute of New York University.
Ursula Burns, Chairman and CEO, VEON
The company operates in a diverse group of markets, with growing populations and rapidly increasing smartphone ownership. This clearly presents a host of growth opportunities for VEON as we seek to build on the positive momentum that we are seeing across the business.
Julian Horn-Smith, Director, VEON's Board
The management team are clearly working well together and focused on delivering against strategic priorities. Ursula has led VEON through a major transaction in the sale of its Italy joint venture for $2.9 billion and overseen a period of solid quarterly operational performance.
