The board of Vodafone PNG has announced the appointment of Pradeep Lal as its new chief executive officer, effective immediately.
A seasoned and experienced executive in the telecommunications sector for over two decades, Mr Lal began his career with Vodafone Fiji as chief financial officer in 1997 and served in various other capacities as manager of strategy and planning, head of sales and marketing and corporate business.
He rose through the ranks to chief operating officer before being promoted to CEO in 2014.
With Vodafone’s expansion into other Pacific island markets, Mr Lal was promoted to regional CEO with additional regional responsibility for the strategic oversight of several Pacific island operations.
Commenting on Mr Lal’s appointment, Vodafone Fiji board chairman Jo Taoi said: “The ATH Group and Vodafone Fiji with its other equity partners have recently made a substantial $US1 billion-dollar ($F2,2bn) investment in an entire greenfield mobile network in PNG.
“The project’s success requires our best resources and an experienced CEO to lead operations in PNG.
“Mr Lal’s appointment as CEO of Vodafone PNG is the culmination of his involvement with the project since 2019. He has been involved with every stage of the project from initial due diligence to company setup, financing, network rollout and commercial launch of the service. His industry knowledge, expertise, leadership qualities and proven management track record are critical to Vodafone PNG’s success.”
Mr Lal is a chartered accountant and fellow of CPA Australia, holds an MBA from Aston University, UK, competed in the high-performance leadership program from Oxford University, is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and has received several local and international individual academic and industry awards.
In addition, he has served on various boards as a member and chairperson. He will continue to serve as regional CEO for Pacific operations while CEO at Vodafone PNG.
