More than two months after TIM Brasil CEO Luca Luciani resigned his position in the wake of allegations that parent company Telecom Italia exaggerated its customer base through irregular SIM card use in Italy, the company announced Andrea Mangoni as the new CEO.
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Mangoni had been serving as TIM’s interim CEO for Brazil since Luciani stepped down. He is the former CFO of Telecom Italia and indirect controlling shareholder of the company.
Mangoni has a difficult job ahead, as recently TIM was forbidden by Brazilian telecom regulator Anatel from selling new mobile services across 19 states of Brazil. In addition, Luciani had stepped down after Italian prosecutors targeted him in an investigation into Telecom Italia’s alleged use of fake client numbers and SIM cards to inflate the appearance of its Italian customer base. Luciani has not been charged with any crime, but his name emerged following the conclusion of a five-year probe into the fraudulent activation of about 37,000 SIM cards, some which were issued to deceased or fictitious users.
“Mangoni’s challenges are great, but I think they can be controlled because TIM currently has an executive team that is getting good results,” said Luis Minoru, consultant director at PromonLogicalis, in an interview with RCR Wireless News.
TIM Brasil is currently the country’s second-largest wireless operator with a 26.9% market share or nearly 69 million mobile lines. Luciani’s resignation occurred on the heels of a strong earnings performance, which has bolstered expectations for the company.
“Luciani was able to gather a team of executives who quickly brought great innovation, and operational and financial results,” Minoru said. “He managed to restore growth, taking second place in market share and without the expense of operational indicators. It is also worth mentioning that TIM Brasil ceased to be a target of speculation that it would be sold. On the contrary, TIM Brasil acquired Intelig and AES Atimus.”
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