TORONTO – Alek Krstajic has been named the new CEO of Wind Mobile, and founder Anthony Lacavera is stepping away from the company’s day-to-day operations to take on the role of honorary chairman, the company announced Monday.
Krstajic replaces former CEO Pietro Cordova who “has transitioned away” to rejoin the Vimpelcom group, according to the announcement. No stranger to the Canadian wireless industry, Krstajic was founder and CEO of fellow new wireless entrant Public Mobile, bought by Telus in 2013, plus was previously president of Bell Mobility and SVP at Rogers Cable.
"We are very happy to welcome Alek as our new CEO”, said Lacavera, in the announcement. “His strong operating history will further strengthen Wind as the company solidifies its place in the Canadian wireless landscape."
Joining the Wind Mobile board of directors is Rob MacLellan, non-executive chairman of Northleaf Capital Partners, who will also take over for Lacavera as chairman of the Wind board. David Carey, EVP corporate services of T-Mobile U.S., and Hamid Akhavan, Telecom Ventures LLC principal, were also elected to Wind’s board.
Of Krstajic, Scotia Capital analyst Jeff Fan wrote in a note to clients that he "understands the various pieces needed to strengthen Wind into a viable and sustainable challenger to the Big 3, while delivering value to Wind's shareholders. We also believe Mr. Krstajic can bring greater visibility to the Wind brand (not unlike the 'Un-carrier' approach of [T-Mobile] in the US) to make it resonate more to Canadian consumers."
"The addition of such huge talents to Wind Mobile's leadership team and board of directors further reinforces our position within the Canadian telecom landscape," Lacavera added. "This group brings with it a wealth of expertise, robust experience and strong knowledge in their respective industries and will prove to be extremely valuable to Wind Mobile as we continue to grow our presence in Canada."
Now with two members of Wind's board from T-Mobile, there is "potential opportunity for Wind to execute TMUS' 'Un-carrier' game plan in Canada once spectrum, capital, and attractive wholesale roaming are in place," wrote Fan. "While we do not believe TMUS has any immediate interest in investing in Canada directly, we believe the TMUS ties provide optionality for Wind shareholders down the road. And in the short-term, Wind gains operational insights on how TMUS has garnered success in the US against Verizon and AT&T."
