Telenor appoints Michael Foley as CEO of Bangladesh’s Grameenphone

Norwegian telecom group Telenor today announced the appointment of Michael Foley as the chief executive officer of its Bangladesh subsidiary, Grameenphone, effective 26 May.

''The board of directors of Grameenphone appointed Michael Foley as the company's chief executive officer (CEO), effective from 26 May 2017,'' Telenor stated in a release.

"I am very pleased that Michael is taking on the challenge of leading Grameenphone through the next phases of digitisation in Bangladesh. Grameenphone is on a strong trajectory and it will be Michael's job to ensure continuity to the current direction together with all the employees in Bangladesh," Sigve Brekke, president and CEO of Telenor Group, said.

Foley (56) has been with Telenor Group since 2014, most recently as the CEO of Telenor Bulgaria. Prior to that, he served as CEO of Telenor Pakistan. He has more than 30 years of sales, marketing and operational experience in the telecom, retail and gaming sectors from both advanced and growth markets. He is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal with a BA in organisational psychology.

"I am honoured and excited to become part of Grameenphone at a time when connectivity and digitisation is transforming Bangladesh. I hope to bring learnings from other markets and further strengthen GP's position as a leader in digital services," said Foley.

Meanwhile, Sasa Filiopovic, currently the chief marketing officer (CMO) of Telenor in Bulgaria, will serve as interim CEO.

Petter-B Furberg, who has served as interim CEO of Grameenphone since October 2016, has been appointed chairman of the Grameenphone board of directors and will continue as head of the Emerging Markets Cluster in Asia. He also remains on the Telenor Group's executive management team.

Christopher Laska will step down as chairman of the Grameenphone board of directors and continue in his role as senior vice president for board governance and partnership relations in Asia.

Grameenphone is the largest mobile telecommunications operator in Bangladesh in terms of revenue, coverage and subscriber base, with 59 million connections (as of Q1 2017).