Deutsche Telekom reshuffles Board of Management

1.7.2016

• Claudia Nemat appointed new board member Technology & Innovation.
• Focus on the upcoming generation of networks.
• Network technology, IT and innovation from a single source.
• New Board member for Europe to be appointed soon.
• Thorsten Langheim new Executive Vice President responsible for "Group Corporate Development".

Deutsche Telekom is consolidating its convergent network, innovation and IT activities in a separate Board of Management department. Claudia Nemat will lead the new board area Technology & Innovation. The company's Supervisory Board approved this appointment on Thursday.

With this step, the Group is focusing on the upcoming generation of networks and the related innovations for Deutsche Telekom customers. These networks will be increasingly characterized by intelligent software control. Developments such as software-defined networks, virtualization and cloud services are bringing conventional network technology ever closer to IT: Innovations in telecommunications are increasingly emerging by network, IT and products interacting with one another. To reflect this, these areas will now be managed with end-to-end responsibility in the new organization.

“With this new management structure we create an important foundation to successfully shape digitization”, said Ulrich Lehner, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Deutsche Telekom.

"We believe in the convergence of networks and the value of virtualization and security. Our customers want to be able to access their data quickly, anywhere and at any time. That's why we need convergent networks that speak a single language: IP," said Tim Höttges, CEO at Deutsche Telekom. "I'm very pleased that Claudia Nemat will continue to drive the convergence of technology, IT and innovation at our company, a move that will make us faster and more efficient. She has already played a major role in shaping the development of the new department and is taking on a crucial task."

The convergence of technology and IT is nowhere more apparent than in the virtualization of networks. Technical limitations are being overcome, making new, innovative services possible. Centralized production in the cloud will make it possible to launch innovative services more quickly. In building Pan-Net, the pan-European network, Deutsche Telekom has already paved the way for its European NatCos (national companies) in recent years.

The new board area will drive product innovations and be able to serve the requirements of the market more quickly. The distribution of the products will be the responsibility of each NatCo, which will improve scalability overall, along the lines of Pan-Net. The network architecture of Pan-Net will make it possible to use a shared, standardized infrastructure throughout Europe. As a result, products and innovations can be distributed on a single platform, across national borders.

The Supervisory Board has also approved further changes: A new Board of Management member for Europe will be appointed as a successor to Claudia Nemat. With the consolidation of Telekom internal IT activities, innovation and technology in a separate Board area, the NatCos will focus mainly on sales, service and marketing in future. Responsibility for business – that is, for profit and losses – will remain with the NatCos, however. The overall responsibility for segment Europe stays with the new Board member Europe. He will bring internationality and a market focus to the table; he knows the industry and the company. At the request of his previous employer, we will not announce his name until next week.

Thorsten Langheim will be appointed Executive Vice President responsible for "Group Corporate Development", effective July 1, 2016. In this position, he will continue to bear responsibility for M&A, corporate strategy and Deutsche Telekom Capital Partners, which backs one of Europe's largest technology investment funds. In addition, he will also take in responsibility for Deutsche Telekom's investment management activities. In this role, he will be responsible for investments in the U.S. (T-Mobile US) and the UK (BT Group) and will join the board meetings of Deutsche Telekom on a regular basis.

"Thorsten Langheim has made a major contribution to the transformation of Deutsche Telekom in recent years. The transactions in the UK and the US bear his hallmark. As portfolio management is of high priority, it is appropriate to strengthen his remit within the company and to integrate it even more closely into the Board's tasks," said Deutsche Telekom CEO Tim Höttges.