GERMANY: New Deutsche Telekom CEO says to focus on the home market Germany

Deutsche Telekom's newly appointed chief executive Rene Obermann said on Monday (November 13) the group's main focus would be on its German home market, where its business has been stagnating. Addressing staff at Europe's biggest telecoms group by sales, 43-year-old Obermann also said that cost cuts would remain crucial in the coming years to boost Deutsche Telekom's competitiveness. "We are the best and we provide the best value for money and we have to keep fighting, guys. We have to work on this together. It won't happen overnight. Don't be discouraged by short-term setbacks. It's a process that takes years and we will go the way together", he said. He also said that Deutsche Telekom would focus on cost cutting and improving service in its biggest market, a strategy similar to that launched by ousted CEO Kai-Uwe Ricke. "The main focus, dear colleagues, will have to be the very important home market here in Germany. Despite all the successes abroad, all the successes in the United States, in England and elsewhere, fifty percent and more of our business is in this country. Many, many employees work in this country. We have to be successful in Germany in all fields we operate in" he told the employees. Obermann said the time had come for Deutsche Telekom to shed its negative image and to put an end to months of bad headlines, following cuts in sales and earning forecasts for this year and next. Telekom's shares rose on Monday after news over the weekend that ousted Ricke had lost the support of the group's top shareholders - the German government and private equity group Blackstone. The stock was up 2.8 percent at 1450 GMT, outperforming a 0.8 percent rise in the DJ Stoxx telecoms index. Telekom's shares have gained 20 percent since Ricke was appointed as CEO four years ago, against an almost 50-percent rise in the European telecoms index over the same period. Telekom employee Diane Murlakow told Reuters Television after Obermann's staff address "Rene Obermann is a very dynamic, young guy who will breathe in some fresh air and will look at everything from a human point of view." "I think he was able to really reach and motivate people today," Murlakow added. In Berlin, Chancellor Angela Merkel wished Obermann "the best of luck" during a joint news conference with visiting New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark.

ITN Source | November 14, 2006

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