He announced his resignation as Kirkby proclaimed her arrival with a LinkedIn post of her corporate identity badge.
“My Telia journey started today and I couldn’t have been more excited,” she said on the business world’s social media site. She was named CEO of Telia six months ago.
Luiga will continue as CFO until 15 September but will no longer be a member of the group’s executive management. Douglas Lubbe will continue in his role as acting CFO for now, said Telia.
Luiga joined Telia in 2009 and became CFO in April 2014, after the resignation of Per-Arne Blomquist and four other senior employees following a review of Telia’s business in Eurasia – in particular, its operations in Uzbekistan. Later the company decided to focus on Scandinavia and the Baltic states.
He said: “Being part of leading Telia Company through these times of massive changes and challenges, first as CFO and then as acting CEO and president, have been a very rewarding experience. But all good things must come to an end, and after some time of deliberation I have concluded that this is the right time for me to leave Telia Company.”
Kirkby paid tribute to his work and added: “I am especially grateful for his desire to ensure the CEO transition was handled in the best possible way, and I look forward to him helping me get off to the fastest possible start, during the next few months.”
Kirkby was CFO and then CEO of Tele2 in Sweden, before moving to TDC in Denmark in December 2018 to lead a transformation of the company. She is also a non-executive director of BT.
She wrote on LinkedIn: “During these Covid times, I had to meet and engage with all my new colleagues virtually. But despite the distance, I still felt the warmth and energy from so many. Thank you team Telia! Very much looking forward to working with the whole Telia team, to bring our purpose and values to life, for the benefit of lives and livelihoods throughout the Nordics and the Baltics.”
