Dutch telecom operator KPN has announced its intention to appoint Eelco Blok as the next Chairman of its Board of Management. The appointment will come into effect as of KPN’s Annual General Meeting on April 6, 2011, when current CEO Ad Scheepbouwer will step down from his position.
The announcement follows months of speculation over Scheepbouwer’s succession. Among the people named was Telenet CEO Duco Sickinghe, who denied he was considering moving to KPN.
Blok is a long-term KPN employee and has held numerous management positions since he first joined the Board of Management in 2004. He has since been instrumental in the progressive and successful development of the company in recent years. Blok has played a key leadership role not only in delivering a significant improvement in the performance of KPN’s Dutch telco organisation, but also more recently in the further profitable development and effective execution of the company’s ‘Challenger’ strategy in Belgium and Germany.
Scheepbouwer paid tribute to his successor: “I have worked at close quarters with Eelco Blok for a number of years. His understanding of this industry and of this Company, its operations, strategy and its potential, both in the Netherlands and internationally, is unparalleled. I look forward to KPN’s continued success under his leadership.”
In the meantime the Supervisory Board intends to appoint Blok to the position of COO, in which role he will work closely with Scheepbouwer until the April 2011 handover in order to ensure an orderly transition.
The terms and conditions of Blok’s contract comply with the Dutch Corporate Governance Code and with KPN’s remuneration policy. He will receive an annual fixed compensation of €800,000, in addition to which he will be entitled to a performance related variable short-term incentive (cash) with an ‘on target’ percentage of 90% of base salary and a long-term incentive (conditional shares) with an ‘on target’ percentage of 135%.
