Digi CEO resigns

Telco industry shocked at Digi official's quitting

Why did Johan Dennelind quit since he was doing well at DiGi? That is the question being asked around at many lunch tables on Thursday

IT has come as a big shock to the industry that Johan Dennelind has called it a day at DiGi.Com Bhd.

That means those who are used to this soft-spoken man will miss him. He is the sort that would not kill an ant.

But why did he quit since he was doing well at DiGi? That is the question being asked around at many lunch tables yesterday.

Has it anything to do with Telenor's 49% stake in DiGi or was it about career advancement? Whatever, he has chosen to remain silent and is away on holiday with his family.

May 17 is his last day at DiGi after clocking in two years.

Dennelind has done a lot in the past two years while at the helm of DiGi. He is credited for the operational efficiency, something needed since margins in the cellular business is thinning. He also was instrumental in charting the future course of DiGi when it got the 3G spectrum in 2008. He understood perfectly well what the 3G spectrum could do for DiGi and how to tackle the Malaysian broadband market that had suffered downtime.

The 1 Low Flat Rate to all networks across prepaid, postpaid and business segment is a plan which is the envy of many operators. And under his leadership DiGi managed to become the most admired company for innovation for the third year running, an award that came from Wall Street Journal Asia.
Johan Dennelind

Where he is headed is unclear, but there is something about DiGi's CEOs. They often get snapped up by international firms. Years ago Richard Shearer, the chief operating officer of then DiGi Swisscom Bhd was snapped up by a British telco and Dennelind's predecessor Morten Lundal got into Vodafone.

Soon enters Henrik Clausen at DiGi. He is from Telenor Denmark and is said to have vast knowledge of the broadband business and that is just apt given the fact that DiGi is pinching market share in the broadband area in Malaysia. He has his own credentials and let's hope he scores marks the way Shearer, Lundal and Dennelind did.

DiGi as a company has done well, be it in profits, market position or its share price, and Telenor as an investor has stayed true to the market even at times when it failed to get spectrum from the Government.

What Dennelind and Lundal have done for DiGi is phenomenal. Lundal, credited for having destroyed the old culture and created DiGi's own innovative culture and Dennelind for operational efficiency.

The stakes are therefore high for Clausen. His challenge is to ensure that DiGi continues to shine and retain or expand market share, but at no cost, should the culture of innovation be changed.

Broadband is an area that needs to be further developed in DiGi's bid to grow non-voice revenues at a time when fast speed fixed line broadband is creating waves. Skeptics say profits there may be but hope the culture of ploughing back into the business be retained and the interest of minorities taken care of.

This is nothing Telenor does not know about but the skeptics will have cause for concern since the resignation of Dennelind has come as a shock.

l B.K. Sidhu is deputy news editor. She picked up two Norwegian words – farvel and velkommen – and takes this opportunity to wish Dennelind "farvel" and "velkommen" to Clausen.

Source: The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: DiGi.Com Bhd has appointed Henrik Clausen as CEO following the resignation of Johan Dennelind, who will leave the company on May 17.

It remains unclear, however, why Dennelind is leaving or where he is going to, after having been with DiGi for six years. He took over as CEO in April 2008.

"After six very rewarding years, leaving DiGi and Malaysia will naturally be difficult for my family and I, but the timing is right for me to move on to new challenges. I am proud that I leave behind a company with a solid platform for future growth, all truly centred on the customer.

"DiGi today is powered by some of the most talented, driven employees in Malaysia, and an experienced and capable management team, whom I will deeply miss," Dennelind said in a statement yesterday.

He also expressed his welcome and support to Clausen, and wished him and DiGi staff the best in taking the company to the next level.

Dennelind had also been DiGi's chief financial officer and chief marketing officer from 2004 to 2007. Prior to that, he was CFO and deputy CEO at Telenor AB, DiGi's parent company, and director of international business development for the Nextra group.

Clausen, 46, has served as Telenor Denmark CEO for the last five years, following the acquisition of Danish broadband provider Cybercity by Telenor in 2005. Clausen had served as CEO of Cybercity since 2000.

"I look forward to being part of DiGi and the mobile business in Asia. Although I have mixed feelings about leaving Telenor Denmark, heading DiGi in Malaysia is an honour and an offer I couldn't refuse," he said.

"DiGi has a significant market presence and a strong challenger position in Malaysia. It is a strong competitor in the Malaysian mobile and Internet market. The company remains one of Malaysia's leading employers of choice, and is highly regarded for its engagement in corporate responsibility."

Clausen's other previous positions were as partner in Andersen Consulting and in AT Kearney in Denmark. He holds an MBA from INSEA, a master's degree in electrical engineering from the Technical University of Denmark and a degree in foreign trade from Copenhagen Business School.

"I am pleased that Henrik accepted the position as CEO in DiGi. I am confident that DiGi will benefit from his telecoms knowledge and management skills, which have proven successful in Denmark," Telenor Asia head and chairman of DiGi, Sigve Brekke, said.

Brekke, on behalf of DiGi's board, also thanked Dennelind for his excellent and dedicated contributions to the company.

"During Johan's leadership DiGi established itself as a company with a solid presence in the Malaysian mobile market, and is highly acknowledged amongst investors for its focus on corporate governance and shareholder value creation. He hands over a company with a clear vision and a well-established strategy.

"I want to wish him all the best in his future endeavours," he said.

Source: The Edge