Golden Telecom, Inc. (the “Company”) (NASDAQ: “GLDN”),
a leading facilities-based provider of integrated telecommunications and Internet services in major
population centers throughout Russia and other countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States
(“CIS”), today announced that, at the annual meeting of its shareholders held on May 18, 2006, ten
directors were elected to the Board of Directors of the Company for a one year term. Four new directors
were elected, including Mr. Patrick Gallagher, Mr. David Smyth, Mr. Ronny Naevdal, and Mr. Jean-
Pierre Vandromme, the CEO of the Company. Six directors were re-elected to the Board of Directors,
including Mr. Petr Aven (Chairman), Mr. Alexei Khudyakov, Mr. Oleg Malis, Mr. Kjell Johnsen, Mr.
David Herman and Mr. Vladimir Bulgak.
Mr. Aven commented, "We are delighted to have three new exceptionally well-qualified independent
directors join the Board of Directors. Patrick Gallagher, David Smyth and Ronny Naevdal each have
outstanding reputations for their contributions to the success of Orange, British Telecommunications
plc (“BT”) and Telenor, respectively. Golden Telecom shall benefit from their experience. Also, we are
delighted to have Jean-Pierre Vandromme, the Company's CEO, join the Board of Directors which will
facilitate the Board's discussion of Mr. Vandromme's ambitious plans for the Company for coming
years."
In addition now to serving on the Board of Directors of Golden Telecom, Mr. Gallagher has over 25
years of experience in international telecommunications. He is currently non-executive Vice Chairman
of FLAG Telecom Group, a global company which owns and manages an extensive sub sea optical
fiber network spanning four continents and serving the business markets of Asia, Europe, Middle East
and the U.S. He is also a member of the Supervisory Board of Getronics NV, a Dutch listed global ICT
solutions and services company with operations in over 30 countries and revenues of Euro 3 billion.
Until March 2006, Mr. Gallagher was Executive Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of FLAG
Telecom Group. Prior to joining FLAG in March 2003, he had a 17 year career with BT. Initially, he
held the position of Commercial Advisor and Commercial Director of BT and in 1994 was appointed
Director of Business Development to lead BT’s international expansion and investment strategy. He
was President of BT Europe from January 1996 to July 2000 where he grew and managed BT’s
European operations to include 12 equity joint venture companies and five subsidiaries, generating over
?6 billion in annual revenue. Subsequently, he sat on BT’s Executive Committee as Group Strategy and
Development Director where he was central to BT’s restructuring and strategic re-positioning. Before
joining BT, Mr. Gallagher spent eight years with Racal Electronics, managing international
communications projects in Europe, the Middle East and South America. Mr. Gallagher is a graduate of
Warwick University with a degree in Economics and Industry.
Mr. Smyth, in addition to serving on the Board of Directors of Golden Telecom, is the Chief Executive
Officer and Chief Financial Officer of The Diagnostic Clinic, an innovative healthcare company based
in London. Prior to that, his career was predominantly in the telecoms market, including eleven years
(1992 — 2003) in senior management roles at Orange plc. These roles included serving seven years as
Group Director of Strategic Planning and Investor Relations, and four years as Group Financial
Controller, Strategy and Planning. Mr. Smyth is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management
Accountants, has an Honors degree in Accountancy, and holds a Masters Degree in Business
Administration from Middlesex Business School in London.
Mr. Naevdal, in addition to joining the Board of Directors of Golden Telecom, is a Director of Strategy
and Business development in Telenor Nordic, a business unit of the Norwegian incumbent operator
Telenor ASA. Mr. Naevdal has been responsible for strategy and business development within
Telenor’s Swedish fixed line operations since January 2003. Prior to joining Telenor Nordic in
September 2002, he worked for Nextra, Telenor’s European Internet division. In the period from 1997
to 2002, Mr. Naevdal worked for Telenor in Germany, the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic,
Austria and Hungary. In this period, Mr. Naevdal held various executive positions, including Chief
Operating Officer in Nextra Czech Republic from 1998 to 1999, Chief Operating Officer in Telenor
Networks from 2000 to 2001, and Head of Strategy in Nextra Central Europe from 2001 to 2002. Mr.
Naevdal was also a member of the Board of Directors of Telenor Nextra and Telenor Networks in the
Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic from 1999 to 2005. Mr. Naevdal has been a member of the
Board of Directors of Glocalnet, a Swedish switchless operator, since 2003.
At a meeting of the new Board of Directors held on May 18, 2006, Mr. Smyth, Mr. Gallagher and Mr.
Herman were appointed to serve on the Company’s Audit Committee. Mr. Smyth will serve as the
Chairman of the Audit Committee. On May 19, 2006, NASDAQ confirmed to the Company that this
new Audit Committee satisfies the NASDAQ requirement for three qualified and independent directors
to serve on this committee of the Board. The Company had previously disclosed to NASDAQ that,
following the resignation of Mr. Ashley Dunster from the Board of Directors in March 2006, the
Company's Audit Committee would have two members until May 18, 2006.
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