Mørland (pictured), previously CFO of Telia Norway until moving to the group position in 2020, will leave in the second half of the year.
He said: “It’s always hard to say goodbye to great colleagues, but I have made this decision as I want to spend more time closer to my family in Norway.”
Mørland is 43, and worked for Telenor from 2006, both in Norway and at subsidiaries in Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Podgorica, in Montenegro. He was CFO of Telenor Denmark before moving to Telia.
In 2020 he replaced Douglas Lubbe who had served as acting CFO, and Christian Luiga, who was acting group CEO of Telia but resigned when Allison Kirkby was made president and CEO.
Kirkby and Mørland took over in the wake of Telia’s move out of Turkey and central Asia. It sold its stake in Turkcell in 2020.
In 2017 it had paid fines totalling US$1 billion for corruption in Uzbekistan. That led to radical changes in the management, and a withdrawal from investments outside the Nordic and Baltic areas.
Mørland said: “It has been a fantastic journey with Telia over the last eight years and I am proud of what my team, and all colleagues at Telia, have accomplished. Telia is today stronger and more resilient, and I know that the company will continue to transform and develop to even better serve our customers.”
Kirkby said: “I am sad that he will leave us, but I fully respect his decision to return to Norway to be closer to his family and take a next step in his career.”
She said: “He leaves Telia in a stronger position than when he took on the group CFO role in 2020.”
