Former O2 CEO Mark Evans has been rewarded for his role in the operator’s merger with Virgin Media with leadership of Telefonica’s new ‘Strategy and Development’ unit.
The company says its new division will have influence over strategy, mergers and acquisitions, and digital innovation in a bid to ensure Telefonica remains at the forefront of digital transformation.
It considers digitisation to be a trend that will have “four times” the impact of the first industrial revolution and wants to have a strategic vision and the tools necessary to respond to customer needs.
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Telefonica O2
The unit will also promote internal efficiencies through the use of new technologies such as AI and big data.
Evans served as CFO of O2 before replacing Ronan Dunne as chief executive in 2016. During his tenure, O2 bounced back from the failed merger attempt with Three to record five years of profitability, paving the way for the joint-venture with Liberty Global’s Virgin Media.
The merger was the largest transaction in Telefonica’s history and following completion, Evans left O2 but remained part of the Telefonica executive committee. His new title is ‘Chief Strategy and Development Officer’.
“We continue to reimagine the future of Telefónica because we know where the future is heading. Telefónica is an ambitious company, full of opportunities, responsible and sustainable. Our Action Plan has been very successful in interpreting and leading the future,” said Telefonica President José María Álvarez-Pallete.
“The new organizational structure is an accelerator in the transformation of Telefónica both to be able to take advantage of all the opportunities offered by the fourth industrial revolution that we are experiencing and also to consolidate a company with state-of-the-art technology units that grow with huge momentum and compete face to face with the best in the world, thus improving efficiency and achieving operational excellence to always be able to provide the very best service to our customers.”
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