Finance chief to take helm at O2 UK

Following the recent appointment of Matthew Key as chairman and chief executive of Telefonica O2 Europe, the company said that Ronan Dunne, currently chief financial officer of O2 UK, will take the helm.

Dunne will take over from Key as CEO of the UK business in 2008 and will also join the board of Telefonica O2 Europe.

Dunne led the acquisition of The Link chain from DSGi into the O2 retail network, and the subsequent disposal of stores surplus to O2’s requirement

The group also announced that chief technology officer, Dave Williams, will be leaving the business at the end of April 2008 to take up a “senior executive position in the US”.

Williams is credited with overseeing the launch of Telefonica O2’s HSDPA network, and mobile TV and femtocell initiatives.