01. 07. 10. - 15:00

Nemšić on 'brutal' Russian business life

Former Telekom Austria (TA) boss Boris Nemšić branded Russian business life "very tough and brutal" as he resigned as CEO of mobile communications giant VimpelCom.

Nemšić restructured Mobilkom Austria before heading TA between 2002 and 2006.

He recently left VimpelCom where he signed a three-year deal in April 2009.

Nemšić told the Kurier today (Thurs): "Russian business life is very tough. It’s brutal. Changes happen faster there. (…) Company owners make decisions and others accept them."

Nemšić claimed managers have to expect the possibility of getting fired every day.

Speaking about what made heading the company – which has around 90 million customers in Eastern Europe and Asia – difficult, Nemšić said: "Bureaucracy plays a dominating role (in Russia)."

Nemšić denied to reveal what made him exit his contract which, according to reports, was worth four million Euros a year.

The Sarajevo-born businessman stressed he appreciated the "unique experiences" he made after deciding to leave family and friends in Vienna.

Asked what he regarded as his achievements heading VimpelCom, Nemšić said: "I entered the firm at the peak of the crisis, the  rouble was in freefall. We had liabilities of 8.5 billion US dollars (6.89 billion Euros) and managed to reduce them to five billion US dollars (4.06 billion Euros)."

Nemšić revealed he could imagine working in Austria again.

"Working here is very convenient. If there’s a challenge, I would consider it. I don’t rule out anything," he said.

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