Farwerck named KPN CEO
October 1, 2019
The Supervisory Board of KPN has announced the appointment of Joost Farwerck as the next CEO and Chairman of the Board of Management of KPN, subject to Works Council advice.
The news follows the announcement that the Dutch telco would be cancelling the appointment of Dominique Leroy due to a police investigation into shares sales.
Farwerck, currently interim Chairman of the Board of Management, has been a member of the Board of Management since 2013 and is currently Chief Operating Officer (COO), a role he has fulfilled since 2014.
While Farwerck can assume the role of Chairman and CEO as part of his current board membership, the Supervisory Board intends to appoint him for a new four-year term as of December 1st 2019 to further ensure longer-term continuity in the Board of Management.
Duco Sickinghe, Chairman of the Supervisory Board, commented: “With Joost assuming the role of CEO, the Supervisory Board is pleased to appoint an experienced telecommunications professional. He has been a member of the Board since April 2013 and is part of the leadership team that shaped the 2019-2021 strategy. Joost knows the company inside out and the environment the company is operating in. With Joost as CEO, the Supervisory Board is convinced that we will make good progress on the further development and execution of KPN’s strategy.”
Farwerck added: “It is with pleasure that I assume the role of CEO of this great company which focuses on offering high speed connections to consumers, businesses and Dutch society. KPN is a company with a realistic strategy in place to perform in the competitive Dutch market. My primary focus will be to deliver on that strategy and explore how we can accelerate the execution even more to deliver organic sustainable growth. We have a great team and a lot of dedicated people in the company. I am eager to work with all of them to execute on that strategy.”
The Supervisory Board also announces its intention to appoint Chris Figee as CFO as of February 1st 2020. Figee, currently CFO at ASR Netherlands, succeeds Jan Kees de Jager who, after more than five years as CFO of KPN, is stepping down from his role and leaving KPN to continue his entrepreneurial career. De Jager will remain member of the Board until March 1st 2020 and will be available for the company thereafter in an advisory role to ensure a smooth transition.
Finally, KPN has also announced that it is expanding its Board of Management to include key business, technology and people responsibilities. In this context, the Supervisory Board intends to appoint the following leaders to the Board of Management as of 1 December 2019: Jean-Pascal Van Overbeke, Chief Consumer Market; Marieke Snoep, Chief Business Market; Babak Fouladi, Chief Technology and Digital Officer; and Hilde Garssen, Chief People Officer.