Telia changes chair amid TV refocus

Swedish Telia Group wants to replace chairwoman Marie Ehling with media and telco exec Lars-Johan Jarnheimer as it looks to expand in TV.

Jarnheimer is the chairman of publishing group Egmont Media and a former member of the boards of mobile operator Millicom and former television broadcasting group MTG. He is set to replace Ehrling, who has served as chair since 2013. 

The move came as something of a surprise to the outgoing chairperson, who told Swedish news agency TT: “I had envisaged staying on until April and now that is not happening, and that is something I have to accept.”

Daniel Kristiansson, chair of Telia Company’s nomination committee, said: “We’re very happy to be able to nominate Lars-Johan Jarnheimer as Chair of the Board of Telia Company. Lars-Johan is strongly business minded and has extensive experience within telecommunications. He has operative experience from being CEO of Tele2 and has been a member of the boards of Egmont, Milllicom and MTG. He also has experience from the consumer businesses within different sectors after having served as Chair of the Boad of Ingka Holding (IKEA) and as a board member of SAS.”

The company is undergoing a significant spate of transition, with Telia withdrawing from central Asia in order to focus on the Nordics and Baltics. It announced a bid for TV4-owner Bonnier Broadcasting in 2018, though the deal is currently under scrutiny from EU regulators. This is largely due to the fact that the Swedish government, which owns 39% of Telia’s shares, is also operator of PSB SVT. 

The shift also comes at a time where Telia is searching for a new CEO following the announced resignation of Johan Dennelind in August. Dennelind will move to Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company, better known as Du, when his time with Telia ends.