Telia Company has announced the appointment of Allison Kirkby as its president and CEO from the second quarter of 2020, taking up the position from her role as CEO and president of TDC Group. Christian Luiga will remain as acting president and CEO at Telia until then, before returning to his role as executive vice president and CFO.
TDC said Kirkby would step down with immediate effect and that vice chairman Mike Parton will act as interim CEO at the Danish operator until her successor is found. TDC said she had concluded the legal separation of the group ahead of schedule following her appointment in December 2018.
Telia said recruitment for a new CEO began in August with support of an external firm and a selection of suitable candidates in the Nordic region and internationally was made. Board chairwoman Marie Ehrling said Kirkby has "solid" experience in both telecoms and media, a strong drive to implement change, a visionary approach and a strong focus on growth.
Ehrling noted that Telia is currently undergoing formative changes in business models, ways of working and rapid technology development. Telia added that Kirkby’s appointment has the support of Ehrling’s replacement, Lars-Johan Jarnheimer.
Kirkby said Telia has the ability to be a role model for the global telecoms industry and bring the benefits of digitisation to all its stakeholders, especially its customers and owners.
TDC thanked Kirkby and said she has delivered significant progress in its ambition to expand investment in Denmark’s digital infrastructure and strengthened TDC’s leading position within digital service products. She has been instrumental in establishing strong performance cultures at both the TDC Group and the two entities, NetCo for infrastructure and Nuuday for services.
