Milan Vašina, the current Chief Operating Officer Marketing, Sales and Customer Care at Slovak Telekom, is to succeed Roland Mahler as Managing Director of the largest Czech operator from 1 January 2011. Milan Vašina (41) is a graduate of the University of Agriculture in Brno, Faculty of Economy. He has been working in the Deutsche Telekom Group since 1997 where he held the positions of Marketing Communication Manager and Residential Segment Marketing Manager at the former RadioMobil, now T-Mobile Czech Republic. He then moved to the post of Marketing Director at EuroTel (later T-Mobile Slovensko a.s.) in Bratislava, which he held in 2002 - 2007. In 2007, he was appointed CEO of T-Mobile Slovensko. Following the integration of T-Mobile and Slovak Telekom in July 2010, Milan Vašina assumed the position of Chief Operating Officer Marketing, Sales and Customer Care at Slovak Telekom. Milan Vašina is single, with no children. He likes to spend his free time with family and friends. His many hobbies include travelling, mountain hiking, jogging, skiing and art. "I very much appreciate being appointed Managing Director of T-Mobile Czech Republic. I am glad to rejoin the company which has developed tremendously over recent years - moving from number two to a clear number one in the mobile market, to establishing itself in the fixed market and further expanding into other segments," says Milan Vašina, adding: "The biggest challenge for me personally will be to continue the success of Roland Mahler under whose management the company managed to achieved this. I am looking forward in particular to the new team and challenges ahead. I believe that in the new position, I will be able to make good use of my experience in Slovakia as well as abroad." "I want to thank Roland Mahler for the excellent leadership he has provided during his past 10 years of service as T-Mobile Czech Republic’s Managing Director, a decade during which the company has grown to become the leading Czech operator and a valued member of Deutsche Telekom Group," said Guido Kerkhoff, Management Board Member Europe at Deutsche Telekom. "I firmly believe that Milan Vašina’s appointment as new Management Director is an outstanding choice and I wish him every success in further cementing the company’s position in the Czech market." Roland Mahler has been T-Mobile Czech Republic's Managing Director since 2000. During his three terms of office, the telecommunications market as well as the operator itself witnessed massive development. The first big change was the incorporation of the company into Deutsche Telekom Group in 2002. The period of 2003 - 2005 was characterized by conquering the number one market position. A historical milestone was the acquisition of České Radiokomunikace's retail business, which made T-Mobile the largest alternative ADSL operator. The latest addition to the portfolio of T-Mobile's services is satellite TV. The company’s success under Roland Mahler's management is also evidenced by the increase of T-Mobile's customer numbers from 1.85 million by year-end 2000 to more than 5 million by year-end 2009, as well as service revenues growth from less than CZK 18 billion to almost CZK 31.5 billion in the same timeframe. From January 2011, Roland Mahler will remain Chairman of T-Mobile Czech Republic's Board of Directors and Chairman of Polska Telefonia Cyfrowa´s Supervisory Board.
About the company T-Mobile Czech Republic has been operating in the Czech market since 1996. As of 30 June 2010, nearly 5.5 million customers were using T-Mobile services. T-Mobile operates a public mobile communications network on the GSM standard in the 900 and 1800 MHz bands and is also authorized to operate a UMTS network. Since 1 January 2008, T-Mobile has been providing high-speed internet connection services based on ADSL technology and offering voice services via a public fixed-line electronic communications network. At the end of 2009, T-Mobile extended its portfolio to include the ICT services. Since its establishment, the company has placed emphasis on the quality of offered services, excellent customer service and proper conduct towards business partners, employees and the environment. T-Mobile received, among other awards, the VIA Bona 2009 award for the involvement of its employees in philanthropic and volunteer activities. T-Mobile is a member of the international telecommunications group Deutsche Telekom . Thanks to the group’s international presence, customers can count on the worldwide availability of their favourite services and take advantage of unified, favourable prices of calls when abroad.