Shurrock stepping down as Telefónica O2 Ireland CEO

22 Sep 2011

Stephen Shurrock, who is to take up a new role as global chief commercial officer of Telefónica Digital

Just months after assuming the role, Stephen Shurrock is stepping down as Telefónica Ireland chief executive to take up new role as global chief commercial officer in Telefónica Digital.

From 1 November, he will be replaced by Tony Hanway, who is to be to be appointed chief executive of Telefónica Ireland.

Telefónica Digital’s mission will be to bolster Telefónica’s presence in the digital world and leverage growth opportunities, driving innovation and strengthening the product and service portfolio.

O2 said today that in his new role as global chief commercial officer of Telefónica Digital, Shurrock will be responsible for global partnerships and devices – both hardware and software – as well as core communications, including voice, messaging and social networks.

Telefónica Digital will be headquartered in London with regional offices in Madrid, Sao Paulo, Silicon Valley and strategic hubs in Asia.

Hanway, who currently holds the position of consumer director with Telefónica in the Czech Republic, was previously consumer sales director with Telefónica Ireland until November 2010.

Hanway first joined Telefónica in Ireland in 2005. In his most recent role heading up the Consumer division in the Czech Republic, Tony managed a team of more than 4,000 people across the retail, online and customer care functions.

O2 has a customer base of almost 1.7m and a market share of 32.3pc in Ireland and recently it reported significant growth in its post-pay base, up by 29,000 customers at the end of June 2011.

John Kennedy is a journalist who served as editor of Silicon Republic for 17 years

editorial@siliconrepublic.com