UK mobile operator EE has revealed that chief commercial officer Marc Allera will replace Olaf Swantee as CEO once it becomes a part of the BT Group.
Fixed-line incumbent BT Group plc (NYSE: BT; London: BTA) last year negotiated a £12.5 billion ($18.4 billion) takeover of EE that it expects to complete in the coming weeks. (See BT Locks Down £12.5B EE Takeover Deal.)
Allera has been at EE for more than four years and will take the helm at the UK's largest mobile network operator as BT looks to capitalize on its ownership of both fixed and mobile network assets.
Besides launching quad-play deals -- which bundle fixed voice, broadband, mobile and TV services in one package -- and introducing products that make use of both fixed and mobile technologies, BT is likely to focus on upselling fixed-line services to mobile-only customers following the EE acquisition.
Similarly, one of Allera's first missions is likely to involve promoting EE's services to BT customers who currently subscribe to a different mobile operator.
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In a brief statement, Swantee said he would "pursue new opportunities" after exiting EE.
Swantee has led EE since 2011, presiding over a rollout of 4G network services that ranks as one of the speediest 4G deployments in Europe.
The operator now claims to serve 12.6 million 4G customers and says its 4G network is available to 93% of the country's population.
Prior to joining EE, Swantee led European operations for France's Orange (NYSE: FTE), which merged its UK assets with those of Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG (NYSE: DT) to create the EE joint venture.
BT secured provisional clearance for the EE deal from the UK's Competition and Markets Authority in October, but it has yet to receive the final go-ahead. (See Eurobites: BT-EE Deal Clears Another Hurdle.)
A deal between BT, Deutsche Telekom and Orange will leave the German incumbent with a 12% stake in BT, making it the company's biggest individual shareholder.
— Iain Morris,

, News Editor, Light Reading