Annual Report 2019 2 Telenor Annual Report 2019 Letter from the Ceo
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ANNUAL REPORT 2019 2 TELENOR ANNUAL REPORT 2019 LETTER FROM THE CEO LETTER FROM THE CEO MODERNISING TELENOR TO DRIVE SOCIETIES FORWARD The first Telenor CEO was Carsten Tank Nielsen. He believed strongly in the telegraph as a means to enable and strengthen businesses and connect the young Norwegian nation with the rest of the world. It was his way of empowering the Norwegian society. It is now 165 years later, and we are still in the business of empowering societies through connectivity. Today we are in the midst of what is probably our largest modernisation effort to date. We are mapping, planning and preparing ourselves and the societies we serve for yet another technology shift to continue moving us forward. In Norway, for example, we are decommissioning the legacy copper lines and upgrading our entire fixed network with fibre and wireless solutions. At the same time, we are constantly seeking to improve and enhance our Our strategic direction guides us towards environment risk, in how we treat our operations and renew our way of work, in reaching our ambitions. It consists of three customers’ data, and in our role as a order to better serve our customers main components: global citizen working towards our throughout all of our markets. Seamless, climate ambitions. personal and more engaging customer • Deliver growth through focused journeys is one part of that, while we are customer offerings that fuel the This direction will guide us through 2020- exploring how to deploy robots, persistent need for connectivity and 21. Crucial to our strategy is our decision to automation and Artificial Intelligence (AI) related services. uniting our Asian markets into a single, to deliver the best possible network • Continue to innovate on our core strong unit and thus build a stronger experience to our customers. business and be a leader in presence in the region. This will make us modernisation, from how we run our well equipped to fully realise the potential networks to the way we engage with across the region and seize opportunities customers across touchpoints. for growth. On the technology side, we • Reinforce our strong foundation of have already seen commercial launches of responsible business through the way 5G in our footprint, and in the coming year we operate and manage business we will continue to explore how 5G can 3 TELENOR ANNUAL REPORT 2019 LETTER FROM THE CEO make an even bigger impact in society. In 2020 and beyond, we will continue to Empowering societies. That is what it is all There are so many new opportunities with focus on making a positive impact for for. We are a company built on the idea of 5G, AI, automation and more. Acting on customers and societies. In order to play always exploring, seeking new them requires us to work in new ways, this important societal role, we are opportunities and developing smarter move faster and engage more deeply with dependent on our ability to monetise our ways to bring people, businesses and partners and peers than ever before. This is services in a fair, predictable and societies together. And we believe that why Telenor is investing time and resources sustainable way. We are reshaping the secure, reliable and efficient connectivity in upskilling our entire workforce. model that took us this far by seeking new is a fundamental need and the lifeblood of and smarter ways of delivering value to our modern societies. This requires continuous The 2020s will also usher in new risks for customers, while applying technology and improvement on our core services; it us to tackle. We will continue to face managing our resources as efficiently as requires simpler systems and processes; manipulation and contamination of data possible. In 2020, we will continue to and it requires us to be even more efficient intended to disrupt and mislead, which modernise our infrastructure, enhance the in how we operate. This is not new to us in places higher expectations on everyone. way we work, and institutionalise our Telenor. We have been creating together For connectivity providers in general and utilisation of data to deliver new, relevant every day since 1855. And we will continue Telenor in particular, it means that building services and better customer journeys. We what Carsten Tank Nielsen started all and maintaining trust, from consumers, fully support the UNs 2030 Agenda for those years ago, working to empower businesses and societies, is more Sustainable Development. Together with societies for the next 165 years and important than ever. As we have seen our partners, customers and stakeholders beyond. lately, cross-border diseases such as we are raising standards in our operations COVID-19 disrupts daily lives, business and and supply chain. We are providing access society as a whole. Keeping our people to services and opportunities that help safe remains a top priority. So does striving deliver on the UNs Sustainable for business continuity, as Telenor plays a Development Goals across our markets. key role in securing critical infrastructure Sigve Brekke, President & CEO when a crisis like this occurs. In the light of While the strategy is the map for our Telenor Group the COVID-19 situation, keeping people business, I like to think of our purpose as connected to what matters most is more our ultimate destination. Connecting relevant than ever. customers to what matters most. 4 TELENOR ANNUAL REPORT 2019 GROUP EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT GROUP EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT1) Sigve Brekke Jørgen C. Arentz Rostrup Cecilie Blydt Heuch Anne Kvam President and Chief Executive EVP and Chief Financial EVP and Chief People EVP and Chief Corporate Affairs Officer (CEO) Officer (CFO) Officer Officer Ruza Sabanovic Lars Thomsen Petter-Børre Furberg Albern Murty EVP and Head of Technologies Acting EVP and EVP and EVP Developed Asia Cluster and Services Chief Marketing Officer CEO of Telenor Norway and CEO of Digi Jukka Leinonen Irfan Wahab Khan EVP Nordic Cluster and CEO of EVP Emerging Asia Cluster DNA, Finland and CEO of Telenor Pakistan 1) As announced on 19 March 2020, a number of key management changes will take place with effect from 1 May 2020; The Asian clusters will be united into one region with Jørgen C. Arentz Rostrup as EVP and Head of Asia. Rostrup will be succeeded by Tone Hegland Bachke as EVP and Chief Financial Officer. Digi CEO Albern Murty and Telenor Pakistan CEO Irfan Wahab Khan will step out of their current roles as heads of the clusters Developed Asia and Emerging Asia and the Group Executive Management, and will continue as CEOs of their respective companies. 5 TELENOR ANNUAL REPORT 2019 LETTER FROM THE CHAIR LETTER FROM THE CHAIR Telenor has a proud history, for more than 165 years, of connecting people and societies. The company has expanded its role in Norway and internationally not only because it has proven capable of handling change, but by embracing change. Going forward the capability to transform will be as pivotal. A fast- moving world requires a fast-moving Telenor. Our industry is facing challenges from disruption and new competitors, as well as increasing customer expectations and regulations. However, technological and economic development unveil new opportunities. Internet is spreading, smartphone ownership is surging and communication technology is democratizing globally. In 2019, Telenor continued to invest in upskilling our employees as well as modernising the way we work. We are progressing on our promises to become leaner and more agile through ambitious modernisation efforts. Operational excellence and delivering great customer experiences is at the core of what we do. Both are elements we see as a license to operate. 2019. This initiative did not succeed, but understanding in all parts of our our strategy of looking at value-creating organisation require continuous efforts. We continued to optimise Telenor’s opportunities and our belief that Asia is For 2020 and onwards the work to portfolio of businesses in 2019. The one of the most dynamic and innovative strengthen responsible business efforts Finnish company DNA was welcomed as a regions in the world, remains. will continue, but there is one area where new member of the Telenor family, we will increase efforts notably; within expanding the Nordic footprint. DNA is an Responsible business is, and has always climate. Our climate ambitions cover two agile and growing business with a strong been, important to us. Expectations from main pillars. The first pillar regards our customer focus, a challenger mind-set customers and stakeholders are own climate footprint. In early 2020 we and an ability to utilise new technologies, increasing on our core services and on all committed to targets of becoming carbon which fits well with Telenor. Building aspects of our services and deliveries. neutral in the Nordic region and reducing scale, creating synergies and leveraging Telenor has over the last years our CO2 emissions by 50 per cent in the our unique position to create value was strengthened substantially our efforts Asian region by 2030. Second, we aim to the rationale behind our efforts to enter with regard to business conduct. We have leverage our knowledge of technology into a merger with our Asian assets in also learned that building a proper and connectivity to empower other 6 TELENOR ANNUAL REPORT 2019 LETTER FROM THE CHAIR industries to reduce their own emissions with other industries, partners and efforts and achievements in the year of through emissions-saving business governments to provide services and 2019. You have delivered on the strategy solutions derived from 5G and IoT. solutions to the challenges presented by we jointly laid out in 2017 with promises the spread of COVID-19. With this to customers, shareholders and Telenor is continuously striving to exceptional situation, access to robust stakeholders.