MegaFon's CEO steps down

Russia's MegaFon announced the resignation of its General Director and CEO, Sergey Soldatenkov, who will leave the company before the expiration of his contract in 2019.

MegaFon's Board of Directors appointed Gevork Vermishian to take over his positions. Vermishian is currently Executive Director.

Sergey Soldatenkov commented: “I have decided that the time has come to hand the reins to Gevork. I have been involved with the Company since its creation, almost 20 years ago. Throughout this time we have been at the forefront of innovation: we were the first to launch new products and services, we surprised clients and competitors, and we were not afraid to change the sector nor, most importantly, to change ourselves. However, we have been conscious for a long time of the need for a management succession plan. With this in mind, we asked Gevork to take on the role of Executive Director last October, with a view to having me focus on strategy and government relations and having Gevork take on operational issues. In this way it was possible to gradually transition responsibilities to Gevork, and I believe that he is now ready to take over my responsibilities as well and assume full control of the management of the company."