Ericsson has appointed Kristian Tear, previously Head of Ericsson Germany, Austria and Switzerland, to head its South-East Asian operations. Effective July 1, 2004, Tear will take on the role of President of Ericsson South East Asia and Country Manager for Ericsson Malaysia, succeeding Mats H. Olsson, who assumes a new position as President of Ericsson China.
Tear’s appointment is timely in view of the fact that South-East Asian countries will begin to roll-out its 3G networks this year, starting with Singapore and Malaysia, followed by Indonesia close on their heels.
Olsson said that Tear’s 3G experience in Europe will be invaluable for Ericsson’s customers in South East Asia.
“Tear brings with him a wealth of experience in the deployment of 3G networks and the rolling out 3G services for Ericsson’s customers in Northern Europe. He has led many successful initiatives in providing business, marketing and technical support to Ericsson customers in their migration from 2G to 3G,” he added.
Tear said that South East Asia presents a new set of challenges for him, as there is a mix of advanced and emerging markets in the region, unlike the mature markets of the three European countries previously under his helm.
“I am honoured to take over this challenging role from Mats Olsson, who has been instrumental in establishing Ericsson’s leadership in Asia, having spent more than 15 years of his career with Ericsson in this region. I hope to continue building on the strong foundation that he has laid and reinforce the commitment that we have made to our South-East Asian customers,” he added.
Tear also sees tremendous potential to support customers in this region in driving traffic by stimulating and creating consumer usage of voice and data services, as well as in accelerating the Mobile Internet market.
“Targeting traffic growth in this region a little earlier than we did in Europe will make sure we never get that growth lull as penetration rises and markets mature,” he said, adding that the key underlying factor determining the success of this effort is superior market and consumer understanding.
Tear joined Ericsson in 1988 after completing a Masters degree in Mechanical Engineering at the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH) in Stockholm, Sweden, with specialty in Industrial Economics and Management. Prior to his European posting, Tear was President of Ericsson Central America and a member of the board of several of the Central American & Caribbean Ericsson companies.
