Liberty Latin America Announces Changes to Executive Team

Rhea-AI Summary

Liberty Latin America Ltd. (NASDAQ: LILA, LILAK; OTC: LILAB) announced a restructuring of its executive team, eliminating the Chief Operating Officer role. Key leaders from Cable & Wireless, VTR, and Liberty Puerto Rico will report directly to CEO Balan Nair. New positions include a Chief Customer Officer and SVP for South-Central Markets, with Guillermo Ponce appointed to the latter role. Vivek Khemka becomes General Manager of VTR. Betzalel Kenigsztein takes charge of Cable & Wireless Panama, replacing Julio Spiegel, who will shift to VP of Government Affairs.

Positive

• Appointment of Guillermo Ponce as SVP, South-Central Markets to enhance growth in Panama and Costa Rica.
• Focus on customer satisfaction with the recruitment of a Chief Customer Officer.

Negative

• Elimination of the COO role may lead to operational challenges during the transition.

Liberty Latin America Ltd. (“Liberty Latin America” or “LLA”) (NASDAQ: LILA and LILAK, OTC Link: LILAB) today announced changes to the Company’s organizational structure at the Executive Team level. The Company will be removing the role of Chief Operating Officer, so that the business leaders for Cable & Wireless, VTR, and Liberty Puerto Rico report directly to Balan Nair, CEO, Liberty Latin America. In addition, two new roles will be added to the Executive Team; SVP, South-Central Markets and a Chief Customer Officer.

Balan Nair, CEO of Liberty Latin America, said, “Last year, we learned so much about ourselves and our business, and we have been evaluating how we operate, how we are structured, how we delight our customers, and how we continue to evolve in a changing environment. Our new structure will bring an even greater focus on our customers, provide fresh perspectives in different areas of the business, and importantly, give our leaders the opportunity for growth.”

He continued, “Our customers are the foundation of our business, and we must work hard to continuously improve their experience, their journey, and enhance the value they receive. To that end, we are recruiting a Chief Customer Officer who will align our customer focused initiatives across the organization and lead our existing Digital, Customer Care, and Programming teams.”

With the addition of the SVP, South-Central Markets role covering the Company’s Panama and Costa Rica operations, Guillermo Ponce, previously CEO of VTR, has been appointed to this newly created position. Guillermo has over 25 years of experience from his time with VTR and within the telecommunications industry. His expertise and discipline will be key attributes as the Company focuses on returning Cable & Wireless Panama to growth and finalizing the acquisition of Telefonica’s operations in Costa Rica.

As Guillermo Ponce transitions out of leading VTR, Vivek Khemka, previously Chief Technology Officer, will be relocating from Denver, USA to Santiago, Chile to become General Manager of VTR. Vivek joined Liberty Latin America in 2018 bringing years of experience across infrastructure build, technology, marketing, operations, and consulting, which positions him well to lead VTR.

Liberty Latin America has initiated a search for a new Chief Technology Officer and in the interim, Christine Weber, Chief Information Officer, will assume the day to day responsibilities.

Betzalel Kenigsztein, formerly Chief Operating Officer, has been appointed as the Executive Director and General Manager of Cable & Wireless Panama, replacing Julio Spiegel. Betzalel is an internationally recognized operator and brings a wealth of knowledge, expertise, and a dedicated focus on driving growth in the Company’s Panama operations. Julio Spiegel will take a new role within Liberty Latin America as VP, Government Affairs reporting to the General Counsel.

ABOUT LIBERTY LATIN AMERICA

Liberty Latin America is a leading communications company operating in over 20 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean under the consumer brands VTR, Flow, Liberty, Más Móvil, BTC, UTS and Cabletica. The communications and entertainment services that we offer to our residential and business customers in the region include digital video, broadband internet, telephony and mobile services. Our business products and services include enterprise-grade connectivity, data center, hosting and managed solutions, as well as information technology solutions with customers ranging from small and medium enterprises to international companies and governmental agencies. In addition, Liberty Latin America operates a sub-sea and terrestrial fiber optic cable network that connects over 40 markets in the region.

Liberty Latin America has three separate classes of common shares, which are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbols "LILA" (Class A) and "LILAK" (Class C), and on the OTC Link under the symbol "LILAB" (Class B).

For more information, please visit www.lla.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210308005262/en/

FAQ

What recent changes were made to Liberty Latin America's executive team?

Liberty Latin America eliminated the COO role and appointed new leaders including a Chief Customer Officer and SVP for South-Central Markets.

Who was appointed as the new General Manager of VTR?

Vivek Khemka was appointed as the General Manager of VTR, transitioning from his previous role as Chief Technology Officer.

What is the stock symbol for Liberty Latin America?

Liberty Latin America's stock symbols are LILA (Class A), LILAK (Class C), and LILAB (Class B).

How is Liberty Latin America enhancing customer focus?

The company is recruiting a Chief Customer Officer to align customer-focused initiatives across the organization.

What are the implications of the executive restructuring for Liberty Latin America?

The restructuring aims to streamline operations and enhance customer experience, but may pose transitional challenges after the elimination of the COO role.