Vimpelcom, a major telecommunications service operator with presence in Europe, Asia, Africa and North America, announced the appointment of Rene Schuster as its Group Chief Operating Officer. Rene takes over from Jan Edvard Thygesan, who after this, will be focusing on strategic projects within the company. Prior to his appointment, Rene Schuster was heading Telefonica Deutschland as its Chief Executive Officer, during which the company delivered consistent organic and market share growth. His other recent senior leadership roles include the Chief Executive Officer of the UK and Irish operations of Adecco, the recruitment and managed service business and prior to that, the Global Marketing Director of the Vodafone Group. Rene has also held a number of other senior positions with companies including Hewlett Packard, Compaq, KPMG, IBM and General Electric. With this appointment, Yogesh Malik (Group Chief Technology Officer), Mikhail Gerchuk (Group Chief Commercial Officer) and Romano Righetti (Group Chief Regulatory Officer) will now report directly to Jo Lunder, said Vimpelcom.
“I am delighted to announce the appointment of Rene Schuster as the Chief Operating Officer of VimpelCom. Rene has an exceptional track record of achievement in telecoms and technology businesses, and we are fortunate that he will be joining us to lead our Business Units through the next phase in the development of VimpelCom. Jan Edvard has been a very important member of our management team, who has made a huge contribution to this Company and we will miss the benefit of his extensive experience and advice. He has been a prominent figure in the development of the telecommunications industry during a period of enormous changes, and we wish him well in his future plans.”
- Jo Lunder, CEO, VimpelCom
“VimpelCom operates in many markets where there are exciting opportunities to develop the business. I am very pleased to be joining the Group as we continue to develop new and innovative services for our customers and I am looking forward to working with my new colleagues.”
- Rene Schuster, COO, VimpelCom
