Orange hires Tom Alexander as UK CEO

The Orange Group today announced that Tom Alexander has joined the company as CEO of the UK business. He succeeds Bernard Ghillebaert who will be fulfilling a new group level role as Executive Vice President of Sales and Customer Experience.
 
Alexander will lead the UK business as it builds on its mobile heritage and expands into new territories including the home phone and Digital TV markets. He will report directly to Olaf Swantee, Senior Executive Vice President Personal Communication Services UK & EME for the Orange Group, and will join the company in December 2007.
 
He joins with a wealth of experience in leading big established brands to even greater success. Most recently, he was CEO of Virgin Mobile in the UK from its inception in 1999 until its sale to NTL in 2006. Prior to that he was Deputy Commerical Director of BT Cellnet.
 
Olaf Swantee, Senior Executive Vice President Personal Communication Services UK & EME for the Orange Group, said: "This is an exciting time for Orange. The company built its name by delivering the best in mobile. We now need to build on that heritage and deliver on the promise of total communications to our customers. With his experience leading some of the biggest brands in the industry and guiding them to commercial and financial success, Tom has the perfect pedigree to deliver continued growth in both Orange's traditional and exciting new markets, operating as one company, under one brand with one vision."
 
Bernard Ghillebaert, whose career has seen him fulfil the position of CEO at both Mobistar – the Belgian sister company of Orange – and Orange UK, will be taking a new group level role in Olaf Swantee's executive management team. As EVP Sales and Customer Experience, he will be responsible for optimising sales, and productivity on both the mobile and fixed sides of the consumer business in key European markets.  He will begin his new role following a transition period with Tom in December.
 
Olaf Swantee said: "Bernard has made an essential and lasting contribution to Orange in the UK over the last three years and I look forward to him replicating this success in his new group level role. When he came to the UK in 2004, Orange was a mobile phone company. Over the last three years, while ensuring stability for the business, Bernard has also laid the foundations for the future of Orange as a total communications company. I now look forward to seeing Tom build on those foundations."