Azerbaijan, baku, 22 May / Trend /Halim Ates, Head of Azercell Telecom Mobile Operator, has been appointed the Chief Operating Officer of Fintur Holdings B.V., a joint venture of TeliaSonera and Turkcell.
In his new office located in Istanbul, Turkey, Ates will be responsible for the overall commercial activities of the Fintur managed companies, driving synergies within the group. He will report to Mr. Tero Kivisaari, President of TeliaSonera Eurasia Business Area, Chairman of Board of Fintur Holdings and CEO of Fintur Holdings. At the same time,. Ates will continue in his role as CEO of Azercell Telecom LLC, the position he has held since April 2006.
In 2004 - 2006, Mr. Ates acted as CEO of Moldcell SA, another company controlled by Fintur Holdings. Prior to that, he worked in HR departments of Fintur (2002) and Turkcell (1998 - 2002).
"We have been working together with Halim Ates for a long time. He has always managed to succeed in all assignments. During his presidency over Azercell, the company has maintained leadership and the market share of over 70%", says Tero Kivisaari. "I am happy to welcome Halim back to Istanbul. His knowledge of the region and strong leadership skills will certainly help us achieve our vision of becoming the leading Communication Services Provider in Eurasia."
Fintur Holdings B.V. is a consolidated subsidiary of TeliaSonera AB in a joint venture with Turkcell Iletisim Hizmetleri AS. Fintur Holdings offers communication services in the Eurasian emerging markets through its subsidiaries in Azerbaijan (Azercell), Georgia (Geocell), Kazakhstan (K'Cell) and Moldova (Moldcell). Fintur is also responsible for operational management of TeliaSonera's subsidiaries in Tajikistan (Indigo, Somocom) and Uzbekistan (Coscom).
Fintur group companies employ over 3,500 people across the region. The company's consolidated revenue exceeded US$ 1.5 bln in 2007.