Gunther Vogelpoel is stepping down as CEO of Tele2 Netherlands and leaving the Tele2 group. Ernst Jan van Rooijen, CFO of Tele2 Netherlands, has been appointed acting CEO with immediate effect until a replacement is found.
Vogelpoel joined Tele2 in 1999 and has held several senior positions in marketing, sales and customer operations at both the Dutch operation and Tele2 Group. He has been CEO of Tele2 Netherlands since early 2011, for a time also leading Tele2's north Europe operations, and served as executive VP of the Tele2 group. Vogelpoel has lead the Dutch company's expansion in the mobile market ahead of its expected launch as a full network operator next year.
The company did not give a reason for his departure. A spokesman for Tele2 Netherlands told Telecompaper Vogelpoel left for personal reasons. He said the announcement was a surprise and was announced the same day internally. It was not known how long it would take to name a successor, the spokesman said.
Tele2 Group CEO Mats Granryd said in a statement that the company still sees a promising future in the Netherlands, driven by its investment in building a 4G network. He noted however that there are "challenges and possibilities within our consumer fixed broadband that need to be swiftly and sharply addressed". At its most recent quarterly report Tele2 said it was taking measures to address customer satisfaction, after reporting the loss of another 12,000 broadband customers in Q3. Granyd said he was confident the "strong management team" at Tele2 Netherlands would "take the business to the next level".
