Thaindian News

New Delhi, March 5 (IANS) Russian mobile operator MTS (Mobile TeleSystems) Saturday appointed Andrei Dubovskov as its president and chief executive officer (CEO), replacing Mikhail Shamolin who served the company since May 2008.

Sistema, a Russian public financial corporation, is a majority stakeholder in India’s Shyam Sistema Teleservices (SSTL) and holds over 51 percent in MTS.

“The board has full confidence that Andrei will continue Mikhail’s undertakings in executing on the strategic priorities of the company as it looks to extract further growth from the Russian and CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) markets of operation,” chairman of the board of directors of MTS Ron Sommer said in a statement issued here.

“Andrei’s wealth of experience in the telecommunications industry and at MTS itself provides him with the necessary skill set to take MTS to even greater heights,” he added.

Shamolin is expected to be nominated to the position of president and CEO of Sistema, due for approval of the board of directors meeting of Sistema Sunday, the statement added.

In the past three years, MTS has enhanced its leadership position through the development of its fixed-line business, the expansion of its proprietary retail channels, the launch of Russia’s first content portal and rapid development of its network infrastructure.

Dubovskov, who joined MTS in 2004 as the head of MTS branch in the Russian city of Nizhny Novgorod, was currently working as the head of MTS Ukraine, the company’s second largest business unit in terms of revenue, since January 2008.

“I am committed to MTS’ further development as the region’s pre-eminent telecommunications provider and further position MTS for future growth,” said Dubovskov.