Swedish operator appoints Petr Cermak as Chief Commercial Officer, CFO exits and group prepares to cut staff by 15%
Sweden’s Tele2 has appointed Petr Cermak as Executive Vice President, Chief Commercial Officer and part of the Group Leadership Team. Charlotte Hansson, EVP Chief Financial Officer and Hendrik de Groot, EVP Chief Commercial Officer are leaving Tele2 immediately.
Cermak will assumes the new role on 10 February, reporting to President and Group CEO of Tele2, Jean Marc Harion. The Swedish telecoms group has opcos in Sweden, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
Latest changes
These are just the latest changes since France’s Iliad Group indirectly became Tele2’s largest shareholder in October last year with 19.8% stake, having completed a three-transaction deal via Freya Investment and NJJ Holdings. The Freya investment vehicle is controlled by the Iliad Group. The stake was acquired from Kinnevik.
Yogesh Malik abruptly left his role as CTIO of the Tele2 group last November. Ove Wik, who was head of digital capabilities and technology for Sweden, is the acting CTIO. In mid January, Kim Hagberg, Executive Vice President, Chief Operations, was also ousted.
At the end of January, at its full year earnings report, Tele2 outlined its strategy to drive profitability and growth, which includes “downsizing of the workforce by around 15 percent within the coming 12 months, subject to union negotiations”.
Harion, said at the time, “Tele2 is a global reference for challenger telcos. On top of that, there is an untapped potential in the company, and we must unleash it. We will reduce complexity, reinforce cost discipline and carefully select investments to focus on those that make a real difference for our customers.”
“Our organisation will undergo significant changes during 2025. This will be a challenging time for all our colleagues, especially those directly affected by the reorganisation. Myself and all Tele2 leaders carry a great responsibility in the coming months to ensure that this process is as transparent, respectful and supportive as possible. These changes are however necessary to make Tele2 a faster and more agile company, better equipped to swiftly capture market opportunities.”
Driving change
Clearly much is expected of Cermak who spent more than three years at Telia, most recently as Group Chief Commercial and Strategy Officer, following his role as CEO of Telia Denmark. During his career, he lived nine years in Sweden and he brings international experience from leading consulting firms such as Bain & Company and The Boston Consulting Group, where he advised global telecom operators on commercial excellence and market strategy.
Harion commented, “I am very pleased to welcome Petr to the team. His extensive telecom expertise, strategic mindset, and ability to drive change will be invaluable as we accelerate the transformation of Tele2 into a faster and stronger company.”
Peter Landgren, currently Head of Financial Reporting & Operations at Tele2, will assume the role of acting EVP CFO, from today. Tele2’s intends to appoint a permanent replacement to Hansson “in the coming months”.