Nokia global director fills senior vacancy at Orange

Orange has poached former Nokia global marketing director Justin Billingsley to fill the role of UK brand marketing director. He will replace Pippa Dunn who took over as UK pay-as-you-go director last November.

Billingsley, who covered the music, fashion and premium division at Nokia, will join the telecommunications giant in September. He will report to vice-president of marketing for Orange UK Jean-Pascal Van Overbeke.

His remit will be to lead the Orange UK 40-strong advertising and marketing teams and he will be responsible for the strategy and direction of the brand.

He joins the company as France Telecom moves to take greater control of the brand by scaling back its brand team.

The restructure follows the departure of Frank Boulben, vice-president of brand and consumer marketing, at the end of last year. Boulden’s role was scrapped and his responsibilities passed to Patrick Rouvillois, vice-president of consumer marketing for Orange Group.

Billingsley previously worked for Coca-Cola, where he spent eight years in senior marketing roles across the US, Australia, Indonesia and the UK, and Unilever.

In May, Orange appointed former Unilever marketer Richard Morley as group vice-president of brands. He is to replace Niall O’Keefe who left the mobile phone operator in April to join PC World as marketing director.

Morley will take over today (July 4) and will be responsible for internal management and the promotion of brand strategy. He will report to Carline Mille-Langlois, senior vice-president of communications and brand.

Orange also launched a £13m advertising push in May to promote its pay-monthly and pay-as-you-go offerings, and its “Gigsandtours from Orange” service that allows Orange customers to reserve tickets for selected concerts up to 48 hours before they go on public sale.