Verizon on Tuesday announced the appointment of former head of U.K. carrier O2 Ronan Dunne as the new president of its wireless business.
Effective in September, Dunne will serve as Verizon’s executive vice president and group president of Verizon Wireless, the carrier said.
In his new role, Verizon said Dunne will be responsible for all aspects of Verizon Wireless’ operations, including marketing, wireless, network, customer care and digital operations. Dunne will report to Verizon president of Operations John Stratton, the carrier said.
Dunne has spent the past eight years as CEO of O2 UK, the second largest wireless operator in the United Kingdom, and also served as a member of the Executive Committee of parent company Telefonica SA. O2 UK in July said Dunne was the longest-serving CEO in the U.K. telecommunications industry.
“Ronan brings a wealth of expertise, as well as global wireless perspective and experience to Verizon Wireless,” Stratton said in a Tuesday statement. “He has a proven record of performance in highly competitive environments. We look forward to his leadership as Verizon continues to invest in and evolve our wireless business to provide the best experience for our customers.”
Dunne first announced his plans to leave O2 in September 2015, a shift which was confirmed last month in O2’s announcement naming CFO Mark Evans as the carrier’s new CEO.
Dunne’s departure followed his “successful completion of a strategic review” of O2 UK’s operations in the wake of scrapped sale to CK Hutchison. That review led to Telefonica’s announcement that Telefonica UK will be reconsolidated within the Telefonica SA group, the carrier said in July.
The announcement comes as Verizon looks to diversify its business to cover growing markets in digital content and advertising as well as its traditional wireless and wireline services.
At the end of last month, Verizon unveiled a deal to buy the core assets of struggling Internet giant Yahoo for $4.83 billion. The transaction, which is expected to close in the first quarter of 2017, will net Verizon Yahoo’s content brands in finance, news and sports, as well as its email service and digital advertising technologies.
Verizon followed up yesterday with its announcement of a $2.4 billion deal to buy telematics company Fleetmatics. That deal is expected to help boost Verizon’s Internet of Things portfolio.
Filed Under: Carriers
