Mohammad Khairil Abdullah joins as CEO of VEON Ventures

By Joy Dumasia

VEON Ltd., a global provider of connectivity and internet services, announces Mohammad Khairil Abdullah will join the VEON Group as Chief Executive Officer of VEON Ventures. Khairil’s new appointment will be effective from 1st March 2022. He will be based in Amsterdam, jointly with the Group leadership team.

Khairil is currently with the Axiata Group, a leading mobile operator in South-East Asia. As CEO of Axiata Digital Services, he built and operated successful digital businesses in data, artificial intelligence, FinTech and system integration while securing attractive venture capital opportunities and relevant external funding. Before arriving at Axiata in 2012 as Group Chief Marketing and Operations Officer, Khairil was at Bain & Company for 15 years, becoming its telco practice managing partner for South-East Asia.

Gennady Gazin, VEON’s Chairman, said: “I am pleased to welcome Khairil as our Ventures CEO. He brings world-class experience and expertise to a key area for VEON’s success. With Khairil at the helm, we will accelerate our focus on digital ventures, pushing JazzCash, Toffee and ShopUp to the next level, as well as other great initiatives in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and across VEON’s footprint. Khairil and his team will continue to focus on our key mission: deliver strong shareholder value by building and monetizing outstanding assets.”

Kaan Terzioğlu, VEON’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Ventures is one of our three main vectors of growth and value generation we presented at our Investor Day. Khairil will contribute to the success of our Group ambitions with his deep expertise in growing and developing digital assets, in combination with a profound knowledge of telcos, exploiting all related cross-synergies while pursuing high-growth opportunities with the flexibility offered by a dedicated company.”

IBS Intelligence reported that Amsterdam-headquartered VEON today announced a partnership with Mastercard to boost digital financial services in the markets of Russia, Pakistan, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Bangladesh.