EasyMobile top marketer leaves ahead of relaunch
EasyMobile sales and marketing director Mike Lewis is leaving the company after the company terminated its brand licensing agreement with its network provider, TDC. He does not have a job to go to.
The two parties struck a deal in early 2005 to launch easyMobile as a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) in the UK and Germany, but easyGroup says TDC is no longer a “worthy licensee” of the easy brand. It follows its acquisition by a five-strong private equity consortium in January.
The UK network will close on December 13 but easyGroup chairman and founder Stelios Haji-Ioannou says he will be looking for a new partner to restart the business next year. He is planning to relaunch the brand with a new team, as Lewis and the rest of the company’s marketers were employed by TDC.
A spokesman for TDC, the former state television operator in Denmark, says it will no longer employ people in the UK after easyMobile closes.
Lewis confirmed that he is leaving to company. He adds: “I am exploring some exciting new opportunities to lead a start-up business in the technology convergence space.”
Former Orange and Virgin Mobile marketer Lewis joined easyMobile last year to replace Sandy Munro (MW November 10, 2005). Former T-Mobile marketing director Munro’s departure, and that of chief executive Frank Rasmussen, came amid reports that the MVNO was struggling to attract customers in the UK.
Earlier this year easyMobile, which previously only sold SIM cards over the internet, launched a range of handsets in high street stores (MW March 2).
