Translated material
Ivan Tavrin to step down as Megafon CEO
Ivan Tavrin will step down as CEO of Megafon. This was reported by Vedomosti, citing close acquaintances of the businessman.
According to the publication’s sources, Tavrin will move to Alisher Usmanov’s holding USM (which controls over 50 percent of Megafon), where he will be engaged in developing the “media direction of the holding.”
According to the publication, Tavrin's place will be taken by the chairman of the board of directors and former CEO of Megafon, Sergei Soldatenkov.
An RBC source in the USM holding also heard about Tavrin's impending resignation. His departure may be officially announced before the end of April.
Last year, Megafon's results suddenly turned out to be worse than both of its Big Three competitors. Thus, it was the only one to show a decrease in revenue from mobile communications in Russia both in Q4 2015 (-0.6%) and for the year as a whole (-0.2%). The operator's OIBDA profitability also fell sharply in Q4, amounting to only 36.6% (VimpelCom had 37.5%, MTS had 40.1%). Although overall for the year it remained higher than MTS and VimpelCom, at 42.8%.
- Ivan Tavrin is a business partner of Alisher Usmanov, whose holding USM controls 56.32 percent of MegaFon. Tavrin headed MegaFon in 2012. Usmanov and Tavrin also own the holding YUTV Holding, which controls the company STS Media and the TV channels YU, Disney, and Muz-TV. *