MegaFon will change its CEO

The new CEO of MegaFon will be the operator's executive director Gevork Vermishyan, who will replace Sergei Soldatenkov in his new post, who announced his imminent resignation from his position in August of this year. According to Vedomosti , the board of directors' proposal to appoint Vermishyan will be considered at the shareholders' meeting on November 13.

As the publication notes, the position of executive director appeared in the company back in 2015. Until December 2016, this post was held by Evgeny Chermashentsev, and then the position remained vacant until Vermishyan took over in November 2017. According to sources, Vermishyan in this position was responsible for the management of the operator’s subsidiaries and branches, network construction and monitored the implementation of the development strategy. In turn, Soldatenkov oversaw relations with shareholders and government agencies, and was also responsible for Megafon’s key government projects, including the operator’s participation in the digital economy development program and preparations for work at the FIFA World Cup.

Vermishyan came to Megafon in 2011, taking the post of financial director of the company. From 2002 to 2007, he held various positions at the oil company Lukoil, and then oversaw the corporate finance block at AFK Sistema.

Sergey Soldatenkov first took the post of CEO back in 2003. He worked in this position until April 2012, when Ivan Tavrin, partner of Megafon’s controlling shareholder Alisher Usmanov in the UTV media holding, became the operator’s general director. From July 2012 to July 2016, Soldatenkov headed the company’s board of directors, and then the shareholders re-appointed him as CEO. Then a Vedomosti source reported that Soldatenkov was invited to correct the situation with the company’s financial results.

During the joint management of Soldatenkov and Vermishyan, the company delisted from the London Stock Exchange (LSE) - the operator’s securities have not been traded there since October 5. In addition, MegaFon bought back part of the shares traded in Russia. As Vermishyan explained these steps, publicity prevents the company from conducting transactions with a high risk profile, experimental partnerships related to new products and technologies, expanding partnerships with state corporations, and accumulating funds and investments instead of short-term dividends.

On August 23, the company announced that it had agreed to repurchase about 18.6% of its shares: just over 57 million common shares and approximately 58.3 million GDR (global depositary receipt). Under the terms of the buyout, the operator will pay approximately 37.6 billion rubles and $568.4 million for shares and GDRs.