FreeMove appoints its first General Manager

New leadership role enables alliance to expand international mobility offers, strengthen sales and account management and speed time-to-market for service innovations

Amsterdam, Bonn, London, Rome, Stockholm, 17 November, 2009: FreeMove, the mobile telecommunications alliance between Orange, TeliaSonera, TIM (Telecom Italia Group) and T-Mobile has today announced the appointment of Fabien Gustafsson to the newly created position of General Manager, effective 3rd November. The appointment is part of a wider alliance restructure and signals renewed focus by the FreeMove partners to further enhance its services to multinational customers and strengthen international sales and account management.

Fabien Gustafsson will provide visible leadership and a coordinated approach for the alliance, acting as the organisation’s advocate with customers, partners and stakeholders. He will be responsible for rapidly expanding the scope and range of FreeMove’s portfolio of services and improve how the alliance identifies, approaches and works with customers. 

Mr. Gustafsson takes the post having previously been the head of MNC mobile services at Orange. He has extensive experience in servicing multinational customers, including the delivery of products and services tailored specifically to their business needs. He was also formerly VP strategy and business development at Orange Denmark and prior to that VP business-to-business development at Mobilix.

Mr. Gustafsson was appointed by, and will report to, the supervisory board of FreeMove. This is composed of Philipp Humm (T-Mobile), Kenneth Karlberg (Telia Sonera), Carlos Lambarri (TIM) and Olaf Swantee (Orange). 

Olaf Swantee, chairman of the FreeMove supervisory board and SEVP of Orange’s mobile operations, commented: “FreeMove has always delivered customer-focused innovative approaches to the management of international mobility. In a competitive market, and with technology creating new opportunities, we can always do more. We agreed that now is the right time to appoint a clear and visible leader for the alliance to help shape its future. By creating a dedicated General Manager – and appointing someone of the calibre of Fabien Gustafsson to the role – we have reinforced FreeMove’s ability to deliver the best mobility solutions for international business, now and in the future.”

Kenneth Karlberg, representing TeliaSonera on the FreeMove supervisory board, commented: “As the mobile needs of multinationals evolve, particularly in this current economic climate, it is important that FreeMove as an organisation is flexible enough to cater to their requirements. Our competitive advantage is global reach with local execution, and the appointment of a General Manager will only further strengthen the alliance and accelerate our ability to deliver for International business customers”.

Philipp Humm, Chief Regional Officer Europe, Deutsche Telekom AG added: "With the nomination of Fabien Gustafsson we have a clear ambition to drive the FreeMove alliance to be the world’s best performing alliance in serving multinational customers.”

Carlos Lambarri, representing TIM on the FreeMove supervisory board said: “The nomination of Fabien Gustafsson as general manager represents the next step in reinforcing the clear vision and long-term commitment of the alliance to develop integrated services and capabilities that provide real benefits to our customers,”

Formed in 2003 the FreeMove alliance provides mobile voice and data services, centralised account management and reporting services to businesses with large International footprints and roaming fleets of employees. With the recent addition of Mobitel in Slovenia, FreeMove now spans 32 markets and reaches nearly 260 million customers across Europe, and has additional operations across the USA and Brazil.

About FreeMove
FreeMove is a mobile telecommunications alliance between Orange, TeliaSonera, TIM (Telecom Italia Group) and T-Mobile. It was founded in 2003 and is committed to providing a seamless international roaming experience to its customers, particularly in the multinational market, where it aims to provide customers with mobility without complexity. FreeMove currently spans 32 countries in Europe, reaching nearly 260 million customers, meaning that the alliance is one of the largest combined footprints in Europe.

Further information about the FreeMove alliance can be found on its website, www.freemovealliance.com

For further information, please contact:

Alex Perry 
Burson-Marsteller
+44 (0)2073006416
alex.perry@bm.com