Telenor Group’s Board of Directors has appointed Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer as new President & CEO. Sigve Brekke is stepping down December 1st after more than 9 years as President & CEO of Telenor.
Telenor’s Board of Directors has carried out an extensive process to identify the right candidate for the position of President & CEO, as Sigve Brekke, the current CEO, has a contract that stipulates retirement at the end of 2024.
“The board has been looking for the most qualified candidate to lead Telenor and we are pleased that Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer has agreed to take on this role. Telenor is an institution of great importance for the 200 million customers in our footprint and for the societies we empower. We need a CEO with great leadership skills, who understands how technology will enable us to deliver secure and superior customer experience and someone who will ensure profitable growth,” says Chair of the Board Jens Petter Olsen.
The board started the process of finding Sigve’s successor this winter. As part of this thorough process, several strong internal and external candidates were considered.
“Benedicte, together with all the talented employees in Telenor, will continue to deliver great results in the company’s next phase. Telenor’s financial targets stand firm, and there are no plans for any strategy shifts. Benedicte’s strong track record from technology and customer driven companies, and extensive top manager and board experience have impressed the board, “ says Olsen.
Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer is currently the CEO in SpareBank 1 SR-Bank, which is in the process of executing on the largest Norwegian banking merger in 25 years. She has previously been a Group EVP of the insurance company Fremtind Forsikring and a Group EVP in DNB Bank as Head of Corporate Banking. In addition, she has significant capital markets experience including private equity, corporate finance and several banks including Citibank, as well as from the FMCG industry. Her board experience includes serving as the Chair of the Oslo Stock Exchange, a member of the Supervisory Board of the Central Bank of Norway, and being a board member of Vipps, Norway’s market-leading payment app. Benedicte is from Bergen, is married and has two children.
“I feel incredibly privileged to be given the opportunity to lead Telenor, which is in a class-of-its-own when it comes to profitable growth and customer experience in the European telecoms industry. I have been working with digital innovation and transformation for two decades, and in my opinion banking and the telco industry are facing similar disruptions. I am very much looking forward to contributing to continued growth and customer centricity in Telenor,” says Benedicte Schilbred Fasmer.
Sigve Brekke has been CEO of Telenor since August 2015. Since Sigve Brekke’s commencement date, Telenor has outperformed the S&P European Telecommunications index by 50% on a dividend-adjusted basis.
“Congratulations to the board on having found a good successor. Benedicte is taking on one of the most exciting and challenging CEO positions in Norway. I’ve had fun at work every single day, and it is a great privilege to be CEO of an organization like Telenor, with so many talented employees. I’ll give full throttle the last few months, then I’m looking forward to welcoming Benedicte to Telenor,” says Sigve Brekke.
Telenor is currently the only operator with a solid footprint in all Nordic markets and has delivered 5 percent mobile service revenue growth in the Nordic region for six consecutive quarters.
“Sigve has done a terrific job on behalf of Telenor for several decades. His nine years as CEO have been a very demanding period for European telcos. Nevertheless, the company has grown and outperformed the industry,” says Olsen.