Grameenphone gets new CEO

Sethi makes sudden exit

The Telenor Group yesterday appointed Petter-B Furberg as the interim chief executive officer (CEO) of Grameenphone, replacing Rajeev Sethi. The change will take effect from November 1 this year.
Industry insiders told The Independent that the decision came as a surprise to employees of Grameenphone, one of the largest corporate houses and the biggest mobile operator in the country.
They described the move as sudden amidst a flurry of rumours over the unscheduled exit of Rajeev Sethi.
Talat Kamal, spokesperson of Grameenphone, said, “The CEO wanted to leave on personal grounds, but it is obvious that Mr Sethi was one of the best chief executives of our company.”
Sethi was appointed on December 1, 2014. Prior to joining Grameenphone, he was the chief marketing officer of Uninor.
A Grameenphone employee said, “We had a hunch that something was happening at the high level. But the order was really sudden. We didn’t have any knowledge that the current CEO had been removed.”
Sarwar Alam, spokesperson of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), said yesterday, “We are not aware of the change.”
As per the government order, mobile phone operators are supposed to inform the regulator before changing their CEOs.   
The industry insiders said some of Sethi’s recent actions had surprised people in the telecom sector.
Sethi is the chairman of AMTOB, which is the association of the mobile operators of the country. But he did not attend a dinner hosted by AMTOB after an international conference of the South Asian Telecommunication Regulator’s Council (SATRC) held on October 4–5 this year. He even stayed away from a high-level meeting called by the state minister for telecom at the Secretariat.
“We know he is going through a family problem,” said an employee of the mobile company. A Grameenphone press release said that Sethi “will pursue new opportunities”.
It also said that Furberg was the senior vice-president of the Bangkok-based Telenor Digital Business. He has held a number of positions at Telenor including that of the chief financial officer and head of financial services. The 49-year-old holds a degree in economics and business administration from the Norwegian School of Economics and is a Certified European Financial Analyst.
The Grameenphone board of directors will now begin a process to identify a permanent CEO, the press release added.

 

Grameenphone gets new CEO

Sethi makes sudden exit

The Telenor Group yesterday appointed Petter-B Furberg as the interim chief executive officer (CEO) of Grameenphone, replacing Rajeev Sethi. The change will take effect from November 1 this year. Industry insiders told The Independent that the decision came as a surprise to employees of Grameenphone, one of the largest corporate houses and the biggest mobile operator in the country. They described the move as sudden amidst a flurry of rumours over the unscheduled exit of Rajeev Sethi. Talat Kamal, spokesperson of Grameenphone, said, The CEO wanted to leave on personal grounds, but it is obvious that Mr Sethi was one of the best chief executives of our company. Sethi was appointed on December 1, 2014. Prior to joining Grameenphone, he was the chief marketing officer of Uninor. A Grameenphone employee said, We had a hunch that something was happening at the high level. But the order was really sudden. We didnt have any knowledge that the current CEO had been removed. Sarwar Alam, spokesperson of the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC), said yesterday, We are not aware of the change. As per the government order, mobile phone operators are supposed to inform the regulator before changing their CEOs. The industry insiders said some of Sethis recent actions had surprised people in the telecom sector. Sethi is the chairman of AMTOB, which is the association of the mobile operators of the country. But he did not attend a dinner hosted by AMTOB after an international conference of the South Asian Telecommunication Regulators Council (SATRC) held on October 45 this year. He even stayed away from a high-level meeting called by the state minister for telecom at the Secretariat. We know he is going through a family problem, said an employee of the mobile company. A Grameenphone press release said that Sethi will pursue new opportunities. It also said that Furberg was the senior vice-president of the Bangkok-based Telenor Digital Business. He has held a number of positions at Telenor including that of the chief financial officer and head of financial services. The 49-year-old holds a degree in economics and business administration from the Norwegian School of Economics and is a Certified European Financial Analyst. The Grameenphone board of directors will now begin a process to identify a permanent CEO, the press release added.