Management Profile

Mr. Michael Patrick Foley was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) effective from 26 May 2017. Before joining Grameenphone he was CEO of Telenor Bulgaria. A Canadian by birth, he joined Telenor in 2014 as CEO of Telenor Pakistan. He has more than 30 years of sales, marketing and operational experience in the telecom, retail and gaming sectors from both advanced and growth markets. He is a Graduate of McGill University in Montreal with BA in Organizational Psychology.

Mr. Yasir Azman was appointed as Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO) effective from 26 May 2017. He also serves as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) from 15 June 2015. Mr. Azman is an experienced professional with vast international experience in multiple countries and cultures. Before joining as CMO Grameenphone, Mr. Azman served as Telenor Group’s Head of Distribution & eBusiness and worked across all Telenor Operations. He has also worked in Telenor India operations as EVP & Circle Business Head for Orisssa and Karnataka circles during 2010-2012. In his previous tenure in Grameenphone, Mr. Azman played a leading role to set up Grameenphone sales and distribution organisation and to transform Grameenphone distribution structure. As a CMO in Grameenphone, Azman has transformed Grameenphone towards a high performing and a digital centric organization. Throughout his career, Mr. Azman has a proven track record as a leader of transformation, change management and business development. He has an MBA from Institute of Business Administration, Dhaka University, and also attended several executive educational programs in the London Business School and INSEAD, France.

Mr. Jens Becker was appointed as Chief Financial Officer (CFO) effective from 15 August 2019. Prior to joining Grameenphone, he had served as CFO of T-Mobile Poland (formerly Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa) from 2007 to 2016 and was engaged with consultancy and entrepreneur ventures since then. During the first half of 2015 he also served as interim CEO for GTS Poland. Earlier, he was CFO at T-Online International AG from 2004 to 2007. With 20 years of experience in Deutsche Telekom Group, he has held leadership positions in Germany and Poland and was also responsible for controlling of T-Online`s subsidiaries in France and Spain, among others. Mr. Jens holds a Master´s degree (Diplom) in Geography, Economics and Business Administration from Free University of Berlin, and participated in Deutsche Telekom General Management Programme from London Business School.

Mr. Rade Kovacevic was appointed as Chief Technology Officer (CTO) effective from 30 January 2018. Earlier, he was serving as the Interim CTO in Grameenphone from 18 June 2017. Prior to joining Grameenphone, Mr. Kovacevic was working as Head of IT Asia (acting), Technology & Services of Telenor Group. Prior to that, he also worked as Head of Sourcing at Telenor India. He has over 17 years of experience in the telecom industry, working in different senior positions. Mr. Kovacevic has an MSc in Electronics and Computer Science from University of Montenegro.

Mr. Ole Bjorn Sjulstad was appointed as Chief Corporate Affairs Officer (CCAO) effective from 02 December 2018. He joined Telenor Asia Pte Ltd. Singapore, as Vice President in 2000 and served as its Managing Director from 2002 till 2004. After, relocation to Norway he served as Senior Vice President of Telenor, Asia region, until April 2007. In 2007, he joined the Telenor CEE regional unit. He led the representative office in Moscow for six years, followed by a two-year posting as Chief Corporate Development Officer in Telenor Hungary. Before Joining Grameenphone he was CEO of Telenor Bulgaria. In his more than 18 years of experience with Telenor Group he has served as a member in the Board of Directors in Grameenphone (Bangladesh), Digi (Malaysia), UCOM (Thailand), Telenor Bulgaria (Bulgaria) and Vimpelcom (now VEON). Prior to joining Telenor Group, Mr. Sjulstad held various leadership and project management positions within the Information and Telecommunications sector, as well as Subsea Engineering & Production business relating to the oil and gas industry. He has earned his Business Administration and Mechanical Engineering degree from Kongsberg Ingeniorhogskole, Norway in 1983. In addition, he has completed the Executive Development Program at IMD, Switzerland, in 2008.

Mr. Syed Tanvir Husain was appointed as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) effective from 12 June 2018. His journey with Grameenphone started as the Head of Leadership & People Development in mid-2013. He later went on to lead the Center of Expertise and then Shared Services organizations within People & Organisation Division. A pioneer in the Digitalisation of HR, he is notable for building stronger stakeholder relationships and driving agility across the organization. Prior to Grameenphone, he held roles of the Head of HR in Citibank N.A, and the CHRO in Airtel Bangladesh, where he led the acquisition and merger with regard to employees with Warid Telecom. He has also worked in the USA for KBR and Aramark. An MBA graduate from IBA, University of Dhaka, Mr. Tanvir began his career as a management trainee in BAT Bangladesh, where he created his legacy by initiating the gender diversity drive, strengthening talent pipeline and by signing two Long Term Agreements with the CBA in his 7.5 years tenure.

Mr. Mahmud Hossain was appointed Chief Business Officer (CBO) effective from 24 October 2018. He previously served Grameenphone as Chief Corporate Affairs Officer (CCAO) from 8 March 2010. He started his career in 1990, when he joined the technical team of the erstwhile Hutchison BD Telecom Ltd. He worked for Grameenphone in his first spell with the Company as Additional General Manager at Technology Operations during 2000-2001. In his incredibly long career, he also worked for few other telecom operators before rejoining Grameenphone in August 2009. Mahmud Hossain obtained his B.Sc. in Electrical & Electronic Engineering from Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology (BUET). He obtained his MBA from the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Bangladesh. He also holds a Master’s (Telecom) degree from Concordia University, Canada.

Solaiman was appointed as the Chief Digital and Strategy Officer (acting) from January 1, 2020. Solaiman is a professional with 20 years of experience in the FMCG and telecom industry in various roles spanning digital channel and services, marketing, product management, brand management, trade marketing and sales. He is a veteran of Bangladesh Telecom Industry with 15 years experience in Telecom, 4 years of which is spent with Telenor. A graduate from IBA, University of Dhaka, he started his career in Sales and Trade Marketing in British American Tobacco Bangladesh (2000 – 2005) after which he moved to Orascom Telecom Bangladesh, Banglalink. He played a vital role in establishing Banglalink as one of the most recognized brands in the country. He has worked directly in Brands, Product and Pricing, VAS and Internet, Research, High Value Loyalty Management, Postpaid and B2B, Mobile Financial Services (MFS) etc. When he left Banglalink in 2016, he was Director, Marketing of Banglalink. Solaiman joined Grameenphone as Director Marketing in February 2016 and in 2018, he was appointed as the Head of Digital Division to pursue the vision of establishing a Telco Digital Ecosystem. He has attended a host of courses & certifications from organizations like London Business School, INSEAD France, Google, HFI, IDEO etc.