The chief financial officer of Royal KPN NV, the biggest telecoms operator in the Netherlands, has resigned with immediate effect after objecting to the group's new executive structure launched on January 1.
KPN, which is struggling to reverse falling revenues, profits and market share in its fixed-line and mobile businesses, said on Tuesday that Carla Smits-Nusteling, who became CFO in September 2009, told the supervisory board "that she does not agree with the internal governance of the company in the new executive structure".
"The new management structure might compromise some of her executive authorities, handing over more power to the CEO, which could be the reason for her dissatisfaction," said analyst Jos Versteeg from Theodoor Gilissen. "We will probably never know the real reason for her departure, but it's likely that she did not get along well with CEO Eelco Blok," Versteeg added. Blok, a KPN insider, became chief executive in April and since then has announced cost cuts, new financial objectives and slashed 25 percent of the workforce.
In December the Dutch telecoms regulator and the competition authorities put KPN under investigation for possible breaches of regulatory law and price fixing, but KPN spokesman Stefan Hufton said Smits-Nusteling's resignation was not related to these investigations.
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