Press Releases

Budapest, April 24, 2018 08:00

Magyar Telekom hereby announces that Chief Executive Officer Christopher Mattheisen resigns and will leave the Company as of July 1, 2018. Tibor Rékasi will take over his position as Magyar Telekom’s new Chief Executive Officer.

At its meeting on April 23, 2018, the Board of Directors of Magyar Telekom approved, at his request, the termination of Christopher Mattheisen’s employment contract as of July 1, 2018.  Christopher Mattheisen also resigns as member of the Board of Directors, also effective from the date above. The Board of Directors appointed Tibor Rékasi as Chief Executive Officer effective from July 1, 2018. The new Chief Executive Officer will also become a member of Magyar Telekom’s Board of Directors as of July 1, 2018.

Christopher Mattheisen has been Magyar Telekom’s Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors since December 2006, including many years as Chairman of the Board of Directors. Prior to that, for four years he was Chief Officer responsible for the Fixed Line of Business. He started his career in Hungary as Sales and Marketing Director at Westel 900 in 1993.

Tibor Rékasi has been Chief Commercial Officer Residential Services at Magyar Telekom since January 2017. He joined the Telekom Group 10 years ago first as Managing Director of IQSYS Zrt. He was Chief Sales Officer and, from 2013, Chief Executive Officer of T-Systems Hungary.

Yesterday, the Board of Directors also decided on the successor of Tibor Rékasi: as of July 1, 2018, the new Chief Commercial Officer Residential Services will be Melinda Szabó. Until recently, Melinda Szabó was Head of SOHO/SME Sales and Marketing at a mobile operator in Hungary. Previously, she had held various management positions at Magyar Telekom; until the end of 2013 she fulfilled the position of Marketing Director of the Residential Area.

Deutsche Telekom’s Chief Executive Officer, Timotheus Höttges said: “Chris has been central to our outstanding performance in Hungary over the last decade. He has built an exceptional business across the enterprise and consumer markets and established a strong connection for the brand and company with Hungarian society. What has stood out for me is the way through his tenure, Chris has stayed true to the values and beliefs of the Deutsche Telekom Group. I would like to thank Chris for his contribution and wish him the best of luck for the future. I would also like to welcome Tibor Rekasi into the role and his elevation to this role is symbolic of our commitment to build and promote the best talent within the company . I am confident he will build on the strong foundation created by Chris and take the business to the next level.”

Commenting on his departure, Chris Mattheisen said: "I am extremely proud to have had the opportunity to lead Magyar Telekom as its CEO over the last 11 years.  We are the clear market leader in Hungary in all segments and are succeeding in defining the category of a converged telecommunications operator with a world-class network.  But I am equally proud that the company has developed a culture of innovation and cooperation and respect for sustainability.  As a result of these achievements, Magyar Telekom is now showing consistent growth year after year, and is well positioned to meet the challenges of the future.  Now is truly the best time to turn over the helm to my successor, Tibor Rékasi, who I know has the vision and ability to carry the company to further success in the future. Tibor is the natural choice as my successor: as CEO of T-Systems Hungary he has developed great relationships with our corporate customers, contributed much to its current growth and market position, and brings IT as well as commercial skills to the job; and over the last year and a half has very successfully led the Residential Services division.”  Mattheisen also noted that he would focus on a number of entrepreneurial projects in the future.

Tibor Rékasi commented on his appointment: “It is a great honor and challenge to be appointed CEO of the leading ICT company in Hungary. I look forward to continuing my work for our customers in the new role, counting on all my colleagues who have been and will be key to our performance. I am grateful to Chris chances for future successI am also delighted to welcome back Melinda Szabó as my successor leading the Magyar Telekom’s residential business: with her two decades of experience in various fields of telecommunication, she brings all the Company needs to achieve our ambitious goals with our residential customers.”