Telenor appoints veteran as Asia head

Details: Manny Pham; Category: Operators; 22 August 2023; 12076 views

Telenor reshuffled its executive suite, appointing Petter-Borre Furberg (pictured, left) as the new head of Telenor Asia, replacing Jorgen Rostrup (pictured, right) who will head up Telenor Nordics.

Rostrup began as head of Telenor’s Asian unit in 2020 and oversaw two mega-mergers on the continent. Axiata and Telenor agreed to merge their units Celcom and Digi forming CelcomDigi in November last year. The merger dragged since its announcement in 2021 due to regulatory concerns.

Telenor also merged its Thai unit Dtac with rival True in March, which was heavily opposed by the market leader at the time AIS citing competition concerns.

Rostrup was group CFO between 2016 and 2020 and was credited for simplifying portfolios and ensuring modernisation across the group.

“Jorgen was sent to Asia three years ago with a mandate to deliver growth and modernisation and capturing opportunities in the region. After completing the two biggest telco mergers in Southeast Asia and setting up and implementing a strong and future-proof organisation in the region, he will now return to the Nordics,” said Telenor Group CEO Sigve Brekke.

Telenor’s new head of Asia Furberg has a wealth of experience on the continent having held multiple leadership roles. He held the role of ‘head of emerging Asia’ between 2017 to 2019, and interim CEO of Bangladeshi unit Grameenphone between 2016 to 2017.

Prior to these roles, he was also CEO of Telenor Myanmar, CMO and then CFO at Dtac.

“When Petter-Børre is returning to Asia, we can utilise the competence of one of our most experienced leaders with 15 years in previous and different roles in the region. He will play an instrumental role in ensuring the implementation and success of the two mergers as well as continue to develop Telenor’s business in the region,” added Brekke.