Belgian cableco Telenet has been forced to deny reports in the Dutch press that CEO Duco Sickinghe was preparing to leave the company for KPN.
In a statement, Telenet said the 52-year old was “not in discussion with KPN and remains CEO of Telenet”.
Becoming CEO in 2001, Sickinghe’s career has straddled both IT and publishing, including a spell as general manager of Kluwer Publishing in The Netherlands. He is also on the board of CME.
Sickinghe has been instrumental in the success of Liberty Global-owned Telenet. The company has remained outside of the main UPC grouping and more than held its own against incumbent telco Belgacom and its IPTV service. When Belgacom secured the rights to Belgian league football, Telenet responded with a marketing campaign demonstrating that its service had all the top Belgian players – through its coverage of foreign leagues.
In addition to a triple play service, marketed as ‘Shakes’, Telenet has also tested LTE technology for the delivery of high-speed internet, and has plans for DTT services.