VEON, a global provider of telecommunications and digital services headquartered in Amsterdam and serving over 235m customers, announces the appointment of Roland Sladek to the role of group director communication & identity, where he will lead the global communication and corporate identity functions.

Mark MacGann, group chief corporate & public affairs officer at VEON, says, “Roland brings extensive telecom, tech and consumer communications expertise, which will be of huge value as we build a trusted global consumer and corporate brand. He has a very strong reputation and track record with the international media, having been spokesperson for some of the leading players in the tech and telecom worlds. He also has deep experience working in both mature and emerging markets and with strategic stakeholders.”

Sladek adds, “There has never been a better moment to join VEON: we are in the midst of a major cultural and business transformation, where the strategic value of communications and positioning will be decisive factors in our success. VEON has a very impressive leadership team and I am excited to join this disruptive digital company and to contribute to it by building global brand awareness.”

Prior to joining VEON, Sladek was vice-president of international media affairs at Huawei, the global telecom infrastructure and smartphone company, where he was based for more than five years at corporate headquarters in Shenzhen, China.

Sladek began his career in corporate communications with Daimler and held similar positions at Schneider Electric, a global specialist in energy management and at VINCI, the global infrastructure and construction group. Prior to his time at Huawei, Roland headed global media relations at ST-Ericsson, the technology joint venture of Ericsson and STMicroelectronics, based in Geneva, Switzerland.

Roland holds a master’s degree in finance and marketing from Sciences Po, Paris and a master’s degree in political science from Freie Universität, Berlin.