Veon shareholders reportedly voted to shrink the company’s board from 11 members to seven, a move prompted by the pending sale of its Russian business.

Russian news agency Interfax reported the decision to downsize was taken at the company’s annual general meeting as shareholders believe a smaller board suits it going forward once the sale completes.

Veon CEO Kaan Terzioglu is a new member, while six other directors retained their seats. These include co-founder Augie Fabela and former Digi CEO Morten Lundal, as well as representatives from the company’s largest shareholder LetterOne.

The operator has all but sealed the sale of its Russian operations to the local management team of PJSC VimpelCom, although a timeline for the full completion of the deal has been pushed beyond an original target of this month.

It struck the deal to offload the business in November 2022, joining a host of international companies exiting the country following its war with Ukraine.

The Russia exit will no doubt have a significant impact on the company’s financials as it was its largest revenue generator for some time.

Veon still has a sizeable presence across countries in central Europe and Asia.