Telenor appoints Irfan Khan to head the group’s Asia operations

Telenor Group has appointed Irfan Khan, chief of Pakistan unit, as executive vice president and cluster head for the Norwegian telecom group’s emerging Asia operations, effective from April 1, 2019.

Khan (pictured) succeeds Petter-Børre Furberg, who will take up a role as CEO of Telenor Norway and move out of the group’s executive management team.

As a result of the move, Khan will join Telenor Group’s executive management team and report directly to Telenor Group CEO and president Sigve Brekke.

“I am confident that Irfan will continue to lead our dedicated and talented teams to success, connecting the cluster’s more than 130 million customers,” said Brekke. “I’d like to also thank Irfan’s predecessor in this role, Petter-Børre Furberg, for his leadership and achievements across our Asia region over the last several years.”

He will also continue as CEO of Telenor Pakistan, a role he assumed in August 2016 following a three-year stint as deputy CEO and CMO of the business.

Khan has been with Telenor for 14 years and was the first employee in Telenor Pakistan when he started as EVP and head of corporate affairs division in 2004.

In Asia, Telenor has operations in Pakistan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Malaysia.

Line appoints founder Jungho Shin as co-CEO

Japan-based Line announced its founder and “chief wow officer” (CWO) Jungho Shin (pictured) will take up an additional role as co-CEO from April 1.

As the co-CEO, Shin will now also focus on bolstering the competitiveness of Line’s services and promoting innovation, while Takeshi Idezawa will concentrate on the management, as well as revenue, organizational structure, human resources, and recruitment, the company said in a statement.

Line said the decision was made during the company’s board meeting and the appointment comes as the company began what it calls its second growth phase this year, moving into new business domains such as fintech, AI and blockchain.

“By having Idezawa and Shin commit to their respective areas of expertise under this new structure, the aim is to strengthen and enhance Line’s management structure, enable nimbler decision-making, and deliver world-class services that will accelerate Line’s growth, both in Asia and globally,” the company added.

Shin was appointed as CWO in February. He has been with the company since its start, most recently serving as chief service officer since April 2018 and chief global officer before that.