Uninor, an Indian unit of Norwegian telecom firm Telenor, has appointed Tanveer Mohammad as its new chief operating officer (COO), the company said on Wednesday. This completely changes the top management of Uninor with the firm getting a new CEO, COO and CFO since January this year.
The firm had appointed Morten Karlsen Sorby as the chief executive officer who took over from Sigve Brekke, who was appointed as the interim CEO of India unit last November after Yogesh Malik had resigned from his position within six months of heading Uninor citing personal reasons. Thereafter the company named Vivek Anand as its new CFO. Anand was roped from Unilever Bangladesh Ltd (Dhaka).
Mohammad moves in from his current role as chief technology officer at Grameenphone, Telenor Group’s operating company in Bangladesh, which is also the largest mobile operator in the country.
He is replacing present COO Ruza Sabanovic, who is moving to the Telenor Group headquarters in Oslo to take up the role of the head of group technology.
"With his proven competence in leading bold and transformative initiatives in network and technology in Bangladesh’s largest mobile operator, Tanveer joins us at Uninor as we are setting the stage for some bold growth and expansion in India," said Morten Karlsen Sorby, CEO of Uninor.
Mohammad, who has over one-and-a-half decade of experience, joined Grameenphone in 1997 as a system engineer and took up the role of CTO in 2010. He has also played an integral role in transforming Grameenphone into a 3G operator earlier this year.
Before joining Grameenphone, he worked with Hyundai Engineering and Construction.
Mohammad holds an Engineering degree from the Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET).
Telenor is taking complete ownership of its Indian unit Uninor by acquiring the 26 per cent stake held by Lakshdeep Investments for Rs 780 crore. The company, which currently owns 74 per cent stake in Uninor, has filed an application with FIPB seeking to raise its ownership to 100 per cent.
(Edited by Joby Puthuparampil Johnson)
