Telia has appointed Kennet Radne as its country manager in Latvia, with responsibilities for Telia Latvia, LMT and Lattelecom and collaboration with the Latvian government.
According to Telia, representation in the LMT supervisory council has been adjusted in view of this appointment.
It adds that following dissolution of Telia Company Corporate Holdings, responsibilities for operations in Latvia have been handed over to Ingrid Stenmark, head of CEO office, strategy and combined assurance, to whom Radne will report.
Stenmark said: After the decision of the Latvian government in November 2017 to keep the structure of LMT and Lattelecom as is, we are looking at how to best implement Telia Company’s strategy in the Latvian context. Our immediate focus is to work with the other shareholder on improving the corporate governance of the two companies in a way that fits the vision and strategy of both shareholders and contributes to enhancing the digitalisation potential of Latvia”.
Radne added: “We have three excellent companies in Latvia but I see a good potential for improvement through better cooperation between these organisations as we work to establish a more active way to engage with their management teams. I am looking forward to interact with all stakeholders to improve companies’ service offerings to the market and to drive the digitalisation and innovation agenda in Latvia. There is a big potential to develop new services in the areas of Internet of Things, data analytics and new media”.
Until January, Radne was acting chief operating officer in Azercell, a Telia subsidiary which was divested in March 2018. He has held a variety of commercial positions during his 17 years at Telia, which have also included representation on the boards of Telia entities in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania.
In addition to his role as country manager, Radne has become the new chair of the LMT Supervisory Council.
Telia is the biggest shareholder in LMT, with an around 60% direct and indirect stake in the company. It has a 49% direct stake in Lattelecom. Telia Latvia is a fully owned Telia subsidiary.
Separately, Lattelecom turnover in Q1 amounted to €47.8 million, a 7% increase on the same period last year. Its profit was €7 million, which was unchanged on a year earlier. Revenues from TV services increased slightly, with a growing number of Lattelecom Interactive TV users and the growing popularity of the Shortcut app, which offers customers versatile content and interactivity.
