4IG Strengthens Its Telecoms Companies in Albania
Senior executives appointed to head fusion of One Telecommunications and ALBTelecom
Key facts:
· The merger of One Telecommunications and ALBtelecom started: 4iG Plc. appointed the joint management of the companies.
· The management team supports the merger of the two companies and leads the new telecoms company following the integration.
· Emil Georgakiev, former CEO of One is the head of telco companies.
· Irina Bonati appointed to Deputy CEO and Chief HR Officer.
· Under the introduced management, 4iG expects to improve the product portfolio, quality of service, customer experience and company efficiency.
· The company intends to be the market leader in ICT services in Albania.
The fusion of One Telecommunications and ALBtelecom has begun, and as of today, reached a defining point. The main shareholder, 4iG International appoints the new management that will be led by Emil Georgakiev, as Chief Executive Officer. The new executive team is simultaneously to head One Telecommunications and ALBtelecom that provides an exceptionally smooth merging. The integration of similar departments and merging the working groups of the two companies will be the main assignment of the recently appointed management.
The new management was compiled of the two merging companies’ leaders. Besides Emil Georgakiev, as CEO, and Irina Bonati as Deputy CEO and Chief HR Officer, Ervin Shpori is appointed to be Chief Legal, Regulatory and Compliance Officer. The Chief Financial Officer is Borislav Borisov, and Ilir Duka is appointed as Chief Technologhy Officer. Svetoslav Nanchev as Chief IT Officer, Indrit Daci as Chief Commercial Officer - Enterprise (B2B) and Anthanasios Paraskevas as Chief Commercial Officer – Consumer (B2C) to support the company’s success in the future. Ornela Bego leads the Corporate Affairs and Communications departments after the fusion of two telecommunications companies. Iris Pekmezi continues her carrier as the VP of 4iG Western Balkan and Jonilda Filipi continues her career as the Head of Communications of 4iG Western Balkan.
“We have trust and confidence in the professionals appointed to the joint management, which is capable of executing and making this merger a success. Their objective is clear: after the fusion, we intend to be the market leader in Albania.” - emphasised Gellért Jászai. “Appointing them is one important step in the transformation of the two telco companies. I am personally assured they will bring success to the new company after the integration for a long time.” – added the Chairman of the Board, 4iG Plc.
The fusion shall create a well-functioning, high quality 4P (mobile, landline voice, tv and internet) provider. The employees of One Telecommunications and ALBtelecom have great experience and expertise, therefore 4iG International decided to found its West-Balkans HUB in Tirana that shall manage the regional portfolio of the Group.
Emil Georgakiev is the Chief Executive Officer of ONE Telecommunications since May 2019. He enjoys more than a decade in the telecommunication sector, having held various leading position in Vivacom, the largest independent telecom operator in SEE. During his career, he has gathered extensive and specialized experience in this field and has contributed in a series of strategic development in the company. Mr. Georgakiev has graduated from the Technical University of Varna in Bulgaria and has since continued the path of technology.
Mr. Shpori graduated in 2000 from University of Shkodra as Master of Science in Law, and furthermore, in 2006 graduated in BA Honors in Management, Faculty of Economy, from the same university. Mr. Shpori joined ALBtelecom as a lawyer in March 2001, and later in 2008 he was assigned as Director of Legal Affairs Directorate of the company. As of January 2014, Mr. Shpori holds the position of Chief Legal, Regulation & Competition Officer. He has more than 20 years of professional experience with ALBtelecom, and recently appointed as interim CEO of ALBtelecom.
Borislav Borisov is the Chief Finance Director and member of the Board of Directors of ONE Telecommunications. He has held executive positions in the finance and telecommunications sector in the biggest companies in Bulgaria. The blend of expertise in finance and technology domains has led Mr. Borisov to successfully devise and implement new business models in the country. Mr. Borisov holds a master’s degree in Finance, Accounting & Control, as well as in Executive Business Administration.
Ilir Duka is the Network Director of One Telecommunications. He has almost 24 years within the company and carries a long professional experience in the field of telecommunications. Mr. Duka has joined the company as Network Planning Engineer, since the company was first established in 1995. Later, he became Head of Network Planning & Optimization and starting in 2005 led the Radio and Transmission Engineering Department until 2018, then appointed as Technical & IT Director. He has a Bachelor Degree in Telecommunications from the Polytechnic University of Tirana and a Master Degree in Business Administration from the University of Tirana, Economic Faculty.
Svetoslav Nanchev is the IT Director of One Telecommunications. He is specialized in IT Infrastructure and Business Support Systems and has an experience of more than 10 years in the Telecom sector. With his knowledge from Vivacom Bulgaria in managing an infrastructure at large scale, IT Network, Data Base, IT Security, Microsoft Technologies, VMware virtualization, Business Intelligence and Data Warehousing, Mr. Nanchev is a valuable asset in the IT transformation of our company and in the implementation of the integrated systems. Mr. Nanchev has graduated from UNIBIT University in Bulgaria in Computer Information Systems.
Irida Bonati graduated at University of Tirana in Business Administration and went on to AMC Group, was becoming Head of Human Resources Section. Later on, she earned her master’s degree in Business Administration at University of Tirana, and started working for ALBtelecom in 2008, where she was responsible for managing operations of the Company in Human Resources management, Administrative Affairs, Quality Management, Real Estate, Renting and Leasing properties of ALBtelecom. Recently she was Deputy CEO and Chief Operating Officer of ALBtelecom.
Indrit Daci after earning his MBA at Modena and Reggio Emilia University worked in the financial and the logistics sector and becoming the CEO of an Albanian-Italian commercial firm. He joined ALBtelecom in 2009 as Chief of Staff for the CEO, then as the Retail Sales Director. In 2012 he became the Retail Sales Director of Eagle Mobil and Network and Retail Sales Director of ALBtelecom simultaneously, he was managing the merger and integration of Eagle into ALBtelecom. From 2014 he filled the position of Chief Sales Director, Chief of Consumer Business Group, Wholesale, Interoperator relations and Business Development Group Coordinator and most recently Chief Sales Officer (CSO) at ALBtelecom.
Athanasios Paraskevas is the CCO of One Telecommunications. He is specialized in commercial activities, sales and distribution and has an experience of more than 15 years in Telecommunication industry. Being actively present in Albanian market for more than 8 years, his international knowledge and experience combined together will contribute to the realization of our strategy to become the preferred and most trusted operator in Albanian market. Mr. Paraskevas has graduated from the Technical University of Patras in Greece in Mechanical Engineering. He has a Master of Science Degree in Computer-Aided Engineering at the Staffordshire University, United Kingdom. He also holds several certifications such as Digital Imperative Certification in Cisco, Cisco Network Devices and Design Cisco Networks.
Iris Pekmezi is the Legal Director and Data Privacy Officer of One Telecommunications. She is responsible for coordination of all the legal affairs of the company and implementation of Data Protection Legislation and Strategies in pursuance to the Albanian legislation. Ms. Pekmezi is an experienced lawyer with a strong professional background in the telecommunications industry. She joined this company in 2002 and has ever since contributed to the journey of the company. In 2021, she became member of the Board of Directors of ONE.
Ornela Bego, Corporate Affairs Director, is responsible for the Corporate Responsibility strategy and activities, oversees all external and internal communications and media relations strategy, aligning the actions with the overall policies of the Group that One Telecommunications belongs to, and at the same time ensures a social contribution of the company to the communities it serves.Before joining One Telecommunications in 2011, Ms. Bego worked in media and communications for over ten years. She served as a journalist in various newspapers and TV Channels, as News Editor in Chief for a national Albanian television and has managed several major PR consulting and advertising projects for national and international corporations and organizations. Ms. Bego holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Tirana.
Jonilda Filipi has a vast experience in Corporate Communications and Public Affairs in industries such as telecommunication and management consulting. She holds a Bachelor/Master degree from University of Tirana in Journalism. She also completed postgraduate studies on Economic and Public Policies from Georgetown University, Washington D.C. She leaded the Corporate Affairs Department at ALBtelecom for the last 5 years. Ms. Filipi is a former business journalist in Albania and in the region. She is author in a number of business oriented article, studies and research during different assignments in her career. She is a start-up enthusiastic, volunteered in the last years as a mentor on PR and Social Media in several Start-up Competitions in Albania.
The Budapest-based 4iG Plc is Hungary’s leading IT systems integrator with significant interests in the domestic and regional telecommunications markets. The company has been present in the market for innovative industry-independent IT technologies for more than 27 years. The company is continuously expanding its services and portfolio to meet the changing needs and demands of the info-communications market. The Group employs more than 6,500 people. 4iG is a broad-spectrum solutions provider with significant interests in IT, telecommunications, satellite telecommunications and telecommunications infrastructure development. The company, listed on the Budapest Stock Exchange, aims to build a dominant market position in a wide range of info-communication services in Hungary, Central Eastern Europe and the Western Balkans. 4iG is one the biggest investors of the Albanian telecommunications sector. www.4ig.hu/home
ONE Telecommunications sh.a. is the second largest mobile operator in Albania and has gradually increased its market share over the last period. The company has 137 company-owned outlets, with a further 70 franchise partners selling ONE services. LTE/4G coverage of 98.5 percent of the population is ensured by 632 own transmission towers, which are also capable of operating 5G technology once legal requirements are met. ONE has a total of 1.36 million mobile subscribers in a market of 2.68 million, of which 1.1 million were active users in the third quarter of 2021.One Telecommunications is the subsidiary of 4iG Group. https://one.al/
ALBtelecom is Albania’s largest telecommunications company, a market leader in fixed internet services and the network that serves it, and a major mobile operator. The company has a total of 788,000 subscriptions, of which 168,000 are fixed voice, 129,000 are fixed Internet, 71,000 are fixed TV, and 420,000 are mobile phone subscribers, ALBtelecom has recorded a stable EBITDA margin of around 30 percent in recent years, with revenues of €57.9 million. According to the company’s own forecast, revenue, EBITDA and profitability will increase in the coming years, with the EBITDA margin possibly reaching 37 percent by 2023. ALBtelecom is a subsidiary of 4iG Group. www.albtelecom.al
