Industry group GSMA elected four new board members, with representatives from KDDI, KT, Telecom Italia and Veon to serve two-year terms from January 2021 to end-December 2022.

The new members are KDDI CEO Makoto Takahashi, KT president and CEO Ku Hyeon-mo, Telecom Italia CEO and GM Luigi Gubitosi, and Veon group co-CEO Kaan Terzioglu.

Completing their terms at the end of this year are representatives from Etisalat, SoftBank Group, SK Telecom and Turkcell.

The four new members join operators Orange (CEO Stephane Richard, also chair of the GSMA), America Movil, AT&T, Axiata Group, Bharti Airtel, China Mobile, China Telecom, China Unicom, Deutsche Telekom, CK Hutchison, MTN, MTS, NTT Docomo, Reliance Jio, Singtel, STC, Telefonica, Telenor, Telstra, Verizon and Vodafone Group.

GSMA director general Mats Granryd (pictured) also has a board seat.

In a statement, Granryd reflected on the impact the global Covid-19 (coronavirus) pandemic had on the association, including the cancellation of all three MWC events this year, along with the wider industry: “We thank the GSMA board for its exceptional support during what has been a challenging year. The board’s insight, direction and support were integral as we navigated difficult decisions. There has never been a more crucial moment for the mobile ecosystem to work together, unlocking the full power of connectivity so that people, industry and society thrive.”

The board is comprised of 26 members, 25 of which are from mobile operators.