Telenor CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas elected chairman of GSMA

Telenor Group on Monday said that its President and CEO Jon Fredrik Baksaas will serve as GSMA chairman for the remainder of the current Board term through December 2014.

In this role, Baksaas will oversee the strategic direction of the organisation, which represents nearly 800 of the world's mobile operators, as well as 250 companies in the broader mobile ecosystem.

Baksaas will also look handset and device makers, software companies, equipment providers and Internet companies, as well as organisations in industry sectors such as financial services, healthcare, media, transport and utilities.

"Connecting even more of the world's population to the mobile Internet is a top priority, and to address this, the GSMA will continue to focus on the future evolution of our networks, the adoption of secure and interoperable new services and advocate for the needs of our industry to governments and regulators," said Baksaas.

"I am looking forward to working with Jon Fredrik and the entire GSMA Board to develop global and regional programmes that will drive future growth and investment in mobile services, and deliver the social and economic benefits that mobile can provide to men and women around the world," said Anne Bouverot, Director General, GSMA.

Baksaas (59) is a Norwegian citizen and has worked in the telecom industry for 25 years. Baksaas had served as Deputy Chairman since January 2011,and has been the CEO of Telenor since 2002.

Baksaas is currently a board member of VimpelCom Ltd, Svenska Handelsbanken AB, GSMA and the Advisory Council of Det Norske Veritas (DNV). Baksaas holds a Master of Science degree from the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration and has additional qualifications from IMD in Lausanne, Switzerland.