Total Access Communication (DTAC) has promoted an executive of Norwegian telecom giant Telenor as its new chief commercial officer, replacing Thai veteran Thana Thienachariya.
Thana, known for his marketing
flair, will be appointed head of DTAC's
newly established Corporate Affairs
and Strategy Group.
Some DTAC employees are said to
be shocked by the change and con
cerned that Thana will soon leave
DTAC.
Telenor is DTAC's major share
holder, and a recent policy has
involved Telenor executives taking
full management control of strategic
posts in DTAC.
The company said effective in May,
its new chief commercial officer
would be Petter Furberg, a former
chief finance officer who is now with
Telenor's Business Development and
Research Department.
As chief corporate-affairs and
strategy officer, Thana will be respon
sible for defining and developing
strategies to strengthen DTAC's busi
ness position in terms of new business
strategies, government relations,
legal and regulatory matters, corpo
rate media and corporate responsi
bility.
Thana and his team have been
known for their marketing flair,
which has contributed to growth in
DTAC's number of Happy prepaid
subscribers.
As well as Furberg and DTAC chief
executive Tore Johnsen, Telenor exec
utives now filling management posi
tions at DTAC include chief technol
ogy officer Rolf Marthinusen, chief
finance officer Terje Borge and chief
strategy officer Roar Wiik
Andreassen.
Thana said the change was a good
one and that his attitude was one of
readiness to accept the new challenge.
CEO Johnsen told DTAC employ
ees about the management change
yesterday. He said the Thai telecom
industry had become fully mature and
that DTAC had to adopt strategies
enabling it to thrive in the new mar
ket environment.
He said Thana had been trusted to
head the significant new group
because of his extensive knowledge
and understanding of the Thai tele
com industry, its nature and its com
plexity. In his new position, he will
contribute to DTAC's future strategic-
direction planning and implementa
tion.
Johnsen said Thana would con
tinue to be a part of DTAC's top man
agement team but with a new set of
more important roles and responsi
bilities.
He said Telenor had been DTAC's
strategic partner for many years and
had proven that differences in nation
ality or race were never an issue in
building up the company's strong
teamwork and passionate culture, as
clearly evidenced by its continuous
growth.
"Petter is not a stranger to the Thai
telecom industry. He has worked for
DTAC for six years, so he has a very good understanding of the market, and we believe that he will contribute greatly to the company's marketing and commercial success," Johnsen said.
As of last May, Telenor Group subsidiary Telenor Asia owned 34.98 per cent of DTAC, while Thai Telco Holdings owned 29.89 per cent.
