Think Telecom targets cross-selling opportunities
New offices and staff members being added to support growth at the firm
Dealers - Alex Yau
May 8, 2014
Former Vodafone commercial director to head up firms marketing strategy
Former Vodafone commercial marketing director Peter Boucher has announced his return to the B2B channel, joining the board at dealer Excalibur Communications.
Boucher spent 11 years at Vodafone, joined the Swindon-based Vodafone Platinum Partner at the end of last month. He will continue his position as chief commercial officer at Addison Lee, where he has spent the past eight months.*
Excalibur, which launched in 1993, is one of the UK’s biggest Vodafone B2B partners, with a customer base of around 5,500 managing in excess of 35,000 connections.
Chief executive James Phipps told Mobile News that Boucher – who played a key role in the launch of Vodafone One Net – has been brought in to help further strengthen the firm’s drive in the Unified Communications market and help “cement” its position as the “number one” business communications firm in the South West.
High demand
“This is a real coup for Excalibur,” said Phipps. “I’ve known Peter for a number of years and his knowledge and expertise in the market place, particularly in enterprise, is second to none.”
He added: “His services as you could imagine were in high demand and he was offered a number of opportunities, some from much bigger dealers than us. “He was impressed with the way we do business and our ambitions to grow in the mobile, IT and fixed line space.”
Boucher, who was also responsible for “overhauling” Vodafone’s channel strategy, which included the launch of Vodafone Partners Services (VPS), commented: “It’s a great business model, and I’ll be adding my 11 years of industry experience to the mix to really accelerate its growth plans.”
Excalibur’s UC drive has also been further strengthened by the appointment of former Vodafone One Net business category marketing manager Jenny Bratherton, who also joined last month.
Bratherton, who spent six years at Vodafone before leaving in 2012, joins as Excalibur’s customer and partner marketing manager.
“We believe we have the strongest team in the channel,” said Phipps.
Expansion
Excalibur will double its number of current sales offices from three to six in the coming months. The firm, which is headquartered in Swindon, has offices in Cardiff and Bristol. Three more unnamed locations, all located within the M4 and M5 corridor will open in the coming weeks as part of its growth and expansion plans.
*Issue 563 incorrectly stated that Peter Boucher had left his position as chief commercial officer at Addison Lee. We apologise to Mr Boucher for the error.
