Confirming the appointments of Brendan Press from Orange and Karl Erik Broten from Digi Telecommunications, Cengiz Oztelcan, CEO of GBI said the two would support "the exciting journey ahead".
“Brendan and Karl will be great additions to the existing team and their valuable experience will push us forward. Brendan has impressive track record in leading teams to achieve exceptional results, and Karl is a highly accomplished finance professional specialising in promoting efficiency, innovation, and customer satisfaction in large service organisations. They both bring a great mix of hands-on experience and expertise which will add value and continue the success of GBI,” Oztelcan said.
Press will return to the GCC to take up the role of chief commercial officer – bringing 20 years of experience to boot.
Press most recently held the position of global lead director, business development at Orange Business Services, UK and, prior to that was the VP, UAE global services at Etisalat.
Commenting on his new role, Press said: “GBI ensures connectivity across the Middle East and beyond with our GBI Smart Network spanning internationally. It’s an incredibly exciting company to be a part of at a time of rapidly increasing demand for data and digital services across the region.
"As a team I want to make sure our partners and customers understand our unique proposition and can trust GBI to deliver quality and cost-effective solutions. I look forward to leading a high-performing team to deliver unique value and provide a platform for transformation across the region.”
New CFO Broten previously worked for the Telenor Group for 23 years in various finance functions, 16 of which he was CFO, across six different markets in Europe and Asia.
Most recently he was CFO for Digi Telecommunications in Malaysia, and for Grameenphone Ltd in Bangladesh. Both are locally listed with Telenor ASA as the controlling shareholder.
Speaking about his new role, he said: "GBI is at the top of its game, offering unparalleled bandwidth and low latency to customers globally, so I’m delighted to be a part of the team helping to propel GBI forward. My experience working in multi-cultural environments and ensuring seamless cooperation across organisations will support us in achieving strategic and financial goals set by the board.”
