O2 Promotes Execs

MADRID, Spain -- Following the recent appointment of Matthew Key as the new Chairman and Chief Executive of Telefónica O2 Europe, the company today announced further changes to its Board of Directors.

Ronan Dunne (44), who is currently Chief Financial Officer of O2 UK, will take over from Matthew Key as CEO of the UK business in 2008 and join the Board of Telefónica O2 Europe. In recent years, in addition to his finance and strategic responsibilities, Ronan has led the successful acquisition and integration of The Link chain from DSGi into the O2 retail network, and the subsequent disposal of stores surplus to O2’s requirement to a number of other operators - crystallising significant value for the business.

Making the announcement, Matthew Key said: “I am delighted that we are able to promote one of our key executives to this important role. Ronan has been an exceptional CFO, with an outstanding track record and business insight. As the second largest wholly-owned subsidiary of Telefónica, O2 UK plays a vital role in the success of the group as a whole and I know that Ronan will continue to build on the momentum that has seen O2 become the UK’s leading operator.

“Alongside this, I am today appointing our Director of Strategy, Vivek Dev, into the post of Chief Operating Officer for Telefónica O2 Europe. The mobile industry is undergoing a sea change as we are, at last, truly moving into a world beyond voice and text. If we are to succeed in this new world, we need to be single-mindedly focused on understanding and delivering what our customers want. Whilst driving financial performance, each of our CEOs must have the flexibility to manage their business to meet local market conditions and customer requirements. At the same time, I am determined that we will capture the maximum synergies possible from all of our operations and do things once across the group where it makes sense. Dev will be integral to ensuring this happens.”

Telefónica Europe plc (O2)