VEON Ltd. announced the appointment of Joop Brakenhoff as Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO), effective from 1 May 2023. Joop will replace Serkan Okandan whose three-year contract as Group CFO is set to expire at the end of April 2023. Serkan will continue to serve VEON as a special advisor to the Group CEO and CFO.

Serkan Okandan has been an integral part of VEON's success over the past three years, contributing to the company's growth and financial stability as the Group CFO. With him at the helm of Group's financial management, VEON has achieved a solid balance sheet, a strong liquidity position, and increasingly self-sufficient operating companies that deliver growth while optimizing their costs. Joop brings more than 35 years of experience to VEON, including serving most recently as the Company's Group Chief Internal Audit & Compliance Officer and prior to that, Head of Internal Audit.

Under his leadership, VEON continued to maintain high ethics and compliance standards led by the tone at the top while transforming its business model. As the Group CFO, Joop will continue to report to VEON's Group CEO, Kaan Terzioglu. Joop joined VEON in January 2019 from Heineken International, where he was the head of Global Audit.

Joop has also held senior Finance and Audit roles at Royal Ahold, prior to which he was Chief Financial Officer of Burg Industries B.V. Joop started his career at KPMG in 1985 where he worked for nine years in a variety of audit roles.