Director General of the GSMA Mats Granryd will step down from his role after MWC Barcelona 2025, bringing an end to almost a decade in the role.
Granryd declined a contract extension to go beyond nine years in the job, and will take on a new role of Special Advisor to the board for the rest of 2025 after he vacates. The GSMA Board has begun searching for his successor.
The director general joined the GSMA in 2015 and had extended two contract extensions during his time.
Granryd’s telecoms career spanned almost 40 years, played roles in deploying all the mobile Gs, and attended MWC Barcelona 26 times.
In India he aided in deploying 2G and as CEO of Swedish operator Tele2 he oversaw the rollout of 4G and achieved significant subscriber growth.
During his time at the helm of the GSMA, Granryd gained agreement that mobile would be the first industry to commit to the SDGs, and steered the organisation through COVID and took the decision to cancel MWC Barcelona in 2020 as premier companies pulled out over health concerns.
