Norway’s Telenor announced the election of Gunn Waersted (pictured) as chair of its board of directors, with a 14 January start date confirmed.

The position has been vacant since October following the resignation of former chairman Svein Aaser, who left in light of the ongoing investigation into affiliate Vimpelcom’s dealings in Uzbekistan.

Waersted is currently EVP and member of group executive management at Nordea Bank, as well as country senior executive at Nordea Bank Norway.

During her career, she has held a number of senior positions within banking and insurance, including CEO roles.

In a statement, Anders Skjaevestad, chair of the corporate assembly and nomination committee, said the company had conducted a thorough assessment of potential candidates for the role, before making the appointment.

“Waersted’s solid management and board competencies and strategic experience will contribute to further develop Telenor as one of the world’s leading mobile operators,” he said.

Waersted said she “is looking forward to continuing Telenor’s fantastic growth and value creation”.

Corruption
Aaser had served as chairman since May 2012, before tendering his resignation over the corruption case in Uzbekistan after the Norwegian government expressed a lack of confidence in the executive over the matter.

VimpelCom, in which Telenor holds a 33 per cent stake, is one of three operators in Uzbekistan which are under investigation by US and Dutch authorities over allegations that it paid bribes to acquire spectrum and other benefits in the country.

The company has since suspended four executives over the probe, including CFO Richard Olav Aa.

Earlier this week, Telenor also announced it now has more than 200 million subscribers across its operations in 13 markets.