Telenor unveils management changes as Norway chief to leave

Norway’s Telenor has announced a series of management changes following Berit Svendsen’s decision to step down as CEO of Telenor Norway and head of the group’s Scandinavia cluster.

Petter Furberg

Petter Furberg has been named as the new CEO of Telenor Norway, while Kaaren Hilsen becomes CEO of Telenor Sweden and Morten Karlsen Sørby has been appointed acting cluster head of Scandinavia.

The replacement of Svendsen comes after the failure of discussions between her and the telco’s chairman Gunn Wærsted, and Telenor Group president and CEO, Sigve Brekke, to find her a new role.

Wærsted said that was “a shame and very sad that Berit has decided to decline the offers of new roles presented to her”. He said that the board regretted “the uncertainty experienced within the Norwegian Telenor organization in the past few weeks and the strain this has caused for our colleagues”.

Brekke said that he had offered Svendsen a role as full-time head of the Scandinavia cluster and chair of the board of Telenor Norway after she declined international roles within the organisation, but that Telenor had “not succeeded in finding a role that Berit wanted to take on”.

“I leave Telenor full of pride over having positively contributed to the company’s development and growth through 30 years. I have had the pleasure of being lifted up and forward by fantastic colleagues and employees. Together we have taken Telenor to new heights, and this has been noticed also outside of the company. I wish all my friends and colleagues in Telenor the best of luck. Now I will take some time off and reset before I surely will take on new and exciting challenges elsewhere,” said Svendsen.

Furberg is currently cluster head of emerging Asia and part of Telenor’s group executive management. Bjørn Ivar Moen, current head of Telenor Norway’s mobile division, will be acting CEO of Telenor Norway from today until Furberg starts. Moen will thereafter remain in Telenor Norway’s management team.

Hilsen worked for Telenor Sweden until 2017 CFO and has worked for Telenor’s operations in Montenegro and Thailand. She now returns to the telco from the position of CFO for Betsson AB.