Change at the helm of Deutsche Telekom’s Finance division: Dr. Christian Illek will leave the company at the end of April, following the 2027 Annual General Meeting, due to age-related reasons. He will be succeeded by Dhananjay Mirchandani, who will succeed Christian Illek as the Board of Management member responsible for Finance effective 05/01/2027. Jan Hofmeyr has also been appointed as the new Board of Management member responsible for Product and Technology. The South Africa-born U.S. citizen will succeed Dr. Abdurazak (Abdu) Mudesir effective 11/01/2026; Mudesir left the company this spring at his own request. Mladen Mitic will become Telekom’s new Chief Product & Digital Officer. He was previously responsible for B2C-Commercial Growth in Deutsche Telekom’s Europe segment and will report to Hofmeyr, the Board of Management member responsible for Technology. Mitic succeeds Jonathan Abrahamson, who is leaving the company at his own request.
Dr. Frank Appel, Chair of Deutsche Telekom's Supervisory Board:
"The message these appointments send is clear: These decisions bring together experience, renewal, and international technology expertise. Deutsche Telekom is in a strong operational and strategic position. The focus now is on preserving and building on this strength with the next generation of leaders. That is why we prepared the succession with great care. With these personnel decisions, we are continuing the orderly transition to the next generation of the Executive Board.
Christian Illek has shaped Deutsche Telekom over many years and in a range of leadership roles. Whether as Head of HR or, in recent years, as Chief Financial Officer, the Supervisory Board has always greatly valued working with him. With his departure, Deutsche Telekom is losing a recognized leader with a deep connection to the company. This was also evident in his willingness to additionally share responsibility for the technology function during the transition period. For this, and for his work over the past 20 years, he has our sincere thanks and appreciation.
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In Dhananjay Mirchandani, we have found a compelling successor to Christian Illek from within our own ranks. He knows Telekom and our industry from his time as an analyst and strategy consultant. His appointment sends a clear signal of continuity in this important area of our company.
With Jan Hofmeyr, we are bringing on board a technology expert with extensive international experience who is equally familiar with telecommunications and the world of major technology platforms. This combination will be very important for the next phase of our network development and technological transformation.”
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Tim Höttges, CEO of Deutsche Telekom:
"For me, Christian Illek’s departure is far more than a personnel matter. Christian and I have worked closely and trustfully together for more than two decades. As the executive responsible for marketing for the German business, as head of HR, as CFO, and most recently also as acting CTO, Christian has been an important architect of our development during pivotal phases. But above all, he has always been one thing to me: a reliable partner. Someone with whom you could openly discuss even difficult situations, who took responsibility, and who you could rely on at any time. Many of the decisions we look back on with pride today also bear his signature. Christian is therefore not leaving behind an office—he is leaving behind a very well-managed organization. I especially appreciate the great professionalism with which he is preparing his successor for the role. That is leadership responsibility that extends beyond one’s own tenure. With Dhananjay Mirchandani, we have been able to appoint a respected leader from within our own ranks as his successor. He knows Telekom and the industry. I look forward to working with him.
At the same time, I am very pleased that we have been able to bring a technology executive of Jan Hofmeyr's caliber to Deutsche Telekom. Jan knows the telecommunications industry from many years of firsthand experience. He also knows the world of international technology platforms, the pace of cloud and digital business models, and the tremendous momentum created by artificial intelligence. In other words, he knows both sides of the field. That is exactly the combination we need now. I look forward to shaping Deutsche Telekom's technological future with him – and to further strengthening our position as a leading European telecommunications company. He can count on the support of Mladen Mitic, who will stand alongside him as the new Chief Product & Digital Officer and successor to Jonathan Abrahamson. You can also recognize a strong company by how it brings its next generation into positions of responsibility in good time. That is exactly what we are doing now.”
Jan Hofmeyr, Board of Management member for Product and Technology:
"Deutsche Telekom is one of the few companies worldwide that combines a strong telecommunications foundation, international reach, and the ability to industrialize technology at scale. This combination puts us in an exceptional position for the years ahead. I am very much looking forward to this new role and to working with Tim Höttges, the entire Board of Management, and the P&T team. Together, we want to bring networks, cloud, AI, and digital platforms even closer together – with the ambition not only to use technology, but to actively help shape the future of our industry."
Dr. Christian Illek, Chief Financial Officer of Deutsche Telekom:
"It has been and remains a privilege to contribute to Deutsche Telekom's continued development in a range of roles. My special thanks go to Tim, my fellow Board members, my teams, and the many wonderful people at Telekom I have had the opportunity to work with over the years. In the months ahead, my focus will be on preparing my successors as effectively as possible."
Dhananjay Mirchandani, designated CFO of Deutsche Telekom:
"I take on this responsibility with great respect and anticipation. Deutsche Telekom has a clear strategy and is in a strong financial position. Together with the Board of Management, my goal is to further strengthen this sustainable competitive position and shape the next phase of our strategic development with the same focus and reliability that Christian Illek has demonstrated so successfully over the past eight years. I thank him for his confidence, his support for my career in finance, and his willingness to work closely with me during the transition phase."
Mladen Mitic, Chief Product & Digital Officer, Deutsche Telekom:
“I am honored by the trust placed in me to help shape the next generation of our products and customer experiences in Europe. The next decade of telecommunications will be shaped by software and AI—they are already changing what our networks and products can deliver for customers. Deutsche Telekom has the scale, infrastructure, and trust to lead this transformation. My focus will be on turning that scale into speed and creating simpler, more personal products that make a meaningful difference for our customers. Ultimately, technology should do one thing above all: make people's everyday lives better.”
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Jan Hofmeyr Biography
Jan Hofmeyr, 58, has more than three decades of experience in technology and product leadership across cloud, telecommunications, and consumer platforms. Most recently, Hofmeyr served as Vice President at Amazon Web Services (AWS), where he led the Telecom Segment. Before that, he led product and technology for AWS Edge Services. Prior to AWS, Jan spent more than a decade at Comcast, most recently as Executive Vice President and Chief Network Officer. Before then, he led the team that developed Comcast’s so-called X1 platform. Jan also served on the Corporate Advisory Board and held leadership positions at Entriq, a company that played a key role in the early infrastructure for paid internet live-video and pay-per-view services. Before that, he spent seven years at Microsoft as Director of TV Strategy, co-founded the eHome division, and led the development of Windows Media Center Edition. In 2006, he received Microsoft’s IP Leadership Award and holds several patents. Jan began his career in South Africa, where he helped launch the country’s first digital television satellite service and later founded MWEB, one of South Africa’s first internet service providers. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Electronic Engineering from Stellenbosch University, South Africa.
Dhananjay Mirchandani’s Resume
Dhananjay Mirchandani (51) began his career in 2000 at the consulting firm AT Kearney, where he contributed to numerous consulting projects in Europe and the Americas. In 2007, he moved to the consulting firm BCG, where he primarily advised telecommunications, cable, and media companies until 2010. From 2010 through early 2015, he served as Head of Broadband & TV at Vodafone Germany. In this role, he was responsible, among other things, for the commercial integration of Kabel Deutschland into the Vodafone Group. He then joined Bernstein Research as an equity analyst covering European telecommunications companies. Dhananjay Mirchandani joined Deutsche Telekom in 2019 and, as Head of Finance & Investment Management in Group Development, took responsibility for the division’s financial planning and performance management. In this role, he supported, among other initiatives, the strategic development and subsequent sale of T-Mobile Netherlands, as well as several major transactions in the radio tower business. In 2023, he became Head of Finance for Consumer Customers at Telekom Deutschland. Since 2024, he has led Group Controlling at Deutsche Telekom, where he is responsible for the Group’s financial planning, performance management, cash flow management, and risk management. Dhananjay Mirchandani holds a degree in mechanical engineering from the Technical University of Darmstadt.
Biography of Mladen Mitic
Mladen Mitic (49) is currently Senior Vice President B2C Commercial Growth in Deutsche Telekom’s Europe segment and will assume the role of Chief Product & Digital Officer at P&T on October 1, 2026. He has 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. Previously, he held leadership positions at Telenor Norway and TDC Business in Denmark and served as a Management Board member and Chief Commercial Officer at Slovak Telekom from 2021 to 2024. Since June 2024, he has been responsible for B2C Commercial Growth in Deutsche Telekom’s Europe segment.
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