Wind announces the appointment of Maximo Ibarra as Chief Executive

Rome (May 3 2012) - Wind Telecomunicazioni S.p.A. ("Wind"), the leading Italian

telecommunications company, announces today that Maximo Ibarra has been appointed Chief Executive Officer, with effect from May 11 2012. Mr Ibarra was previously Head of the Consumer Business Unit for Wind.

Mr Ibarra said: "Wind is a young, innovative and fast growing company and I am delighted to become the CEO at such an exciting stage from a competitive point of view. Wind has always distinguished itself among its peers for providing excellent service and the best value for money offer in the market. This positioning will be further enhanced in order to continue delivering the best performance and consistent growth in market share. Our ambition is to become the number one operator in the Italian consumer market and to achieve rapid growth in the corporate sector. We are on the right path to reach these objectives."

"In the current difficult economic context Wind's value proposition is attractive to consumers. We have worked and will continue to work to prioritise the values that set us apart: first rate network quality, outstanding customer service combined with transparent and convenient tariffs. There has never been a better time to change to Wind."

"In addition, over the next twelve months, Wind will continue to make significant investment in Mobile Internet making best use of the recently acquired LTE licences in order to maximize the opportunity of the growing demand for mobile broadband."

Wind, which currently has almost 24 million customers in Italy, is part of VimpelCom, one of the largest telecommunications company in the world. Mr Ibarra has also been appointed a member of the Management Board of VimpelCom.

Jo Lunder, Chief Executive Officer of VimpelCom, stated: "I am delighted to announce the

appointment of Maximo to lead our Italian business. He has a track record of success in running the Consumer Business Unit and broad experience of both the Telecoms sector and other industries. I am confident that Wind will continue its successful track record of performance whilst executing on our Value Agenda under his leadership."