Telenor Group announced the resignation of Berit Svendsen, CEO of Norway and head of the Scandinavia Cluster — indicating some crisis among the leadership team members at the telecom operator.
Berit Svendsen is leaving Telenor after serving the company for 30 years and holding the top position in Norway for nearly seven years. Berit Svendsen has decided to part ways from Telenor because the group did not offer a suitable position to her when Sigve Brekke was elevated as the group CEO.
Telenor, announcing the resignation of Berit Svendsen, said Petter Furberg will be the new CEO of Telenor Norway.
Kaaren Hilsen will be the new CEO of Telenor Sweden.
Morten Karlsen Sorby will be the acting cluster head of Scandinavia.
Berit Svendsen has been the CEO of Telenor Norway for seven years and held an additional role of cluster head for Scandinavia since March 2017.
Telenor said it tried to offer new role and additional responsibility to Berit Svendsen as part of the strategy to groom leaders with the telecom group.
“The Board wants Telenor to develop a wider range of leaders prepared to take on more extensive assignments in the Group, including potential successors to the Group CEO. Some candidates will benefit from more international experience whereas others will benefit from more exposure to the Norwegian market,” Gunn Wærsted, chair of the Board for Telenor, said.
Telenor said Berit Svendsen has been a significant leadership figure in Telenor for years, and she has made great contributions to the company and delivered solid results.
Petter Furberg has experience from several of Telenor’s operations and business areas. Since joining the company in 1998, he held a number of senior management positions, including CEO positions in Myanmar and Bangladesh, chief financial officer and chief marketing officer in dtac, Thailand, and head of Financial Services for Telenor Group based at Fornebu.
Bjorn Ivar Moen, current head of Telenor Norway’s Mobile division, will be acting CEO of Telenor Norway until Furberg starts. Moen will thereafter remain in Telenor Norway’s management team.
Kaaren Hilsen was until 2017 CFO in Telenor Sweden and worked for Telenor’s operations in Montenegro and Thailand. She returns to Telenor from the position of CFO for Betsson AB.