Telefónica has announced a number of changes to its organisational structure.
It’s setting up a new business unit called Telefónica Digital. Matthew Key, who joined O2 in 2002 and had previously been in charge of Telefónica Europe, will run the unit. It’ll be based in London with offices in Madrid, Sao Paulo, Silicon Valley and a number of locations in Asia. Around 2,500 staff will be drawn from Telefonica and its associated businesses.
Telefonica Digital will be responsible for developing services including video and entertainment, e-advertising, e-health, financial services, cloud-based products and M2M.
There’ll also be ‘streamlining and balancing’ of Telefonica’s geographical mix. José María Álvarez-Pallete, previously head of Telefónica Latin America, will oversee the new Europe unit. Santiago Fernández Valbuena - previously General Manager of Strategy, Finance and Corporate Development - will take charge of Latin America.
In addition, a Global Resources operating unit will be created to ensure the profitability and sustainability of the business. All four business units will report to COO Julio Linares.