Mobilink Pakistan, part of the VimpelCom group, will have a new Chief Executive Officer this August. The appointment of Jeffrey Hedberg replacing his predecessor Rashid Khan will be effective next month, when Rashid retires after 14 years of service in Vimpelcom's subsidiaries, Mobilink which operates in Pakistan and Banglalink which operates in Bangladesh.
Prior to his tenure with Mobilink and Banglalink, Jeffrey Hedberg led Telkom South Africa as Acting CEO and Telkom's Nigerian subsidiary, Multi-Links Nigeria as CEO. His earlier roles also include the CEO of Cell C in South Africa and CEO and Chairman of Deutsche Telekom USA. In addition, Jeffrey was Executive Vice President and Member of the Board of Management of Deutsche Telekom AG where he developed the strategy for the International Division from 1999 to 2002, just before he become the CEO of Deutsche Telekom USA.
According to VimpleCom, the group via its subsidiaries in Russia, Italy, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Armenia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Algeria, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Burundi, Zimbabwe, Central African Republic and Canada, has 218 million mobile customers as at end of March this year, with its global operations covering a total population of 754 million people.
"Jeffrey has very strong operational telecoms experience with specific experience of emerging markets. He has held a number of leading roles including CEO of Telkom South Africa and of Cell C, prior to which he was Chairman and CEO of Deutsche Telekom USA. I am very pleased he will be leading Mobilink through the next phase of the Company's development. I would like to thank Rashid Khan, who has made a significant contribution to Mobilink and banglalink over the past decade, in particular establishing Mobilink as the leading operator in Pakistan. We wish Rashid a long and happy retirement."
- Jo Lunder, VimpelCom CEO
"The opportunity presented by Mobilink—as a market leader in a dynamic, growing and highly competitive market—is intriguing and exciting. I look forward to the challenge of improving our performance while increasing our positive impact on the market and on Pakistani society as a whole."
- Jeffrey Hedberg, CEO, Mobilink