KPN is set to appoint Dominique Leroy (54) as the next CEO and Chairman of the Board of Management of KPN, with effect from December 1, 2019.
She succeeds Maximo Ibarra, who as previously announced resigned from his position effective 30 September 2019.
Dominique Leroy will join KPN from Proximus Group (formerly Belgacom), where she is currently CEO, a position she has successfully fulfilled since 2014. Leroy joined Belgacom in 2011 and was from 2012 onwards a member of the management committee with responsibility for the consumer business. Prior to joining Proximus, she worked for 24 years at Unilever, ultimately as Managing Director of Unilever BeLux and member of the Unilever Benelux management committee. She has a degree in Business Engineering from the Solvay Business School and is fluent in Dutch, French and English.
Chairman of KPN’s Supervisory Board Duco Sickinghe: “We are very pleased to appoint Mrs. Dominique Leroy as the new CEO of KPN. Dominique is a dynamic, customer-focused and engaging leader with a wealth of experience in the telecommunications industry. With her strong strategic, operational and communication skills, we are convinced that Dominique will be able to successfully execute on KPN’s strategy.
“At the end of last year KPN unveiled its 2019 – 2021 strategy, prioritising sustainable growth in the medium term. Good progress has been made to date, driven by our dedicated Board of Management and Executive management team, and executed by our colleagues throughout the firm. With Dominique at the helm, the Supervisory Board is confident that we will see further progress in the delivery of KPN’s strategy, positioning KPN for further success in the years to come. Continuing to execute against that strategy will remain KPN’s focus.”
Dominique Leroy: “I am very excited to be nominated as the next CEO of KPN. KPN has a high- quality reputation and an excellent leadership team. I am looking forward to working with them and the wider KPN team to execute on the existing strategy and help KPN to become a premier digital services and communication provider with the customer at its heart.”
Mr. Joost Farwerck will temporarily assume the position of Chairman of the Board of Management and Executive Committee from 1 October 2019 until 1 December 2019, in addition to his existing role as COO.
The Central Works Council has expressed its support for the appointment of Mrs. Dominique Leroy through a positive advice. Her remuneration package will be in line with KPN’s remuneration policy, with a base salary of EUR935,000 per year and KPN’s regular short and long term incentive plans. Shareholders will be informed about the intended appointment at an Extraordinary Meeting of Shareholders, which will be convened in due course.
Meanwhile, Proximus issued the following statement “With regrets, the Board of Directors of Proximus has taken note of the decision of Mrs. Dominique Leroy to leave Proximus because she has been offered a new opportunity abroad, despite the Board’s unanimous willingness to reconduct her mandate as CEO of the company. The mandate of Mrs. Leroy will end on December 1, 2019.
“The Board wishes Dominique all success in her further career and will start immediately the procedure for selecting a new CEO.”
