Jose Antonio Rodriguez Appointed New CEO of Digicel El Salvador

Digicel, the largest mobile operator in the Caribbean and new entrant to the Central American market, today announced that Jose Antonio Rodriguez is the newly appointed CEO for Digicel El Salvador. In addition to the new CEO appointment, Luis La Rocca, the former El Salvador CEO, has been promoted to Vice President of Business Development for Digicel Central America, spearheading Digicel’s expansion across the region.

Jose Antonio Rodriguez, a native El Salvadorian, has more than 10 years of telecommunications industry experience. He joins Digicel El Salvador having formerly served as Country Manager of Telefónica El Salvador. Rodriguez will leverage his vast telecommunications expertise to drive Digicel’s continued growth in El Salvador.

“Digicel is pleased to appoint Jose Antonio Rodriguez to the role of CEO Digicel El Salvador. Given Jose’s excellent track record, we are confident he will foster the continued growth of Digicel’s El Salvador operation at the phenomenal rate we have seen in recent months,” said Kevin White, COO of Digicel Group Ltd.

Since its official El Salvador launch last year, Digicel has increased its El Salvadorian subscriber base threefold and grown its market share from five percent to more than 18 percent, successfully competing with the other mobile providers in the market.

As Vice President of Business Development for Digicel Central America, Luis La Rocca will be responsible for leading Digicel’s expansion efforts across the region, and will be actively involved in the bidding team for the imminent license auction in Panama for which Digicel has prequalified. La Rocca previously held a similar position with BellSouth where he led that company’s expansion into Panama, Nicaragua and Guatemala. Prior to this appointment, La Rocca led Digicel’s entry into the El Salvador market through an acquisition in October 2006 and the subsequent brand launch in April 2007.

“We are pleased to promote Luis to the role of VP of Business Development for Digicel Central America,” said Donal O’Shaughnessy, CEO of Digicel Central America. “With a recent license in Honduras and even more opportunities for new licenses ahead, this is a very exciting time for Digicel in Central America. Digicel is entering into this next phase of growth with solid management teams in place to execute against our aggressive business goals.”

Jose Antonio Rodriguez’s past experiences include the positions of both Marketing Director and Commercial Director for Telefónica’s El Salvador and Guatemala operations. Prior to Telefónica he held senior management positions at Telecommunicaciones de America SA de CV (TELECAM) and at GBM of El Salvador, SA de CV, an IBM Alliance company. Rodriguez graduated in Computer Engineering from the Tulane University in New Orleans, USA and earned an MBA from the Pontificia Catholic University of Chile.

With an investment of US$190 million, Digicel has dramatically expanded its operations in El Salvador in the last year to offer a first class service. The company increased its population network coverage by 20 percent in just six months, achieving 95 percent coverage to reach communities previously underserved by competitors. Digicel El Salvador directly employs 487 people and has 464 independently managed retails stores nationwide.

Digicel Central America Holdings Limited is a sister company to Digicel Group Limited and Digicel South Pacific Limited.

About Digicel

Since its launch in 2001, Digicel has become the fastest growing wireless telecommunications operator in the Caribbean. After seven years, Digicel is renowned for competitive rates, unbeatable coverage, superior customer care, a wide variety of products and services, and state-of-the-art handsets. It is the largest GSM operator in the region.

By offering innovative wireless services and community support, Digicel has become a leading brand in the Caribbean and has placed the region at the cutting edge of wireless communications.

Digicel is incorporated in Bermuda and has operations in twenty three markets including Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, Aruba, Barbados, Bermuda, Bonaire, Curaçao, The Cayman Islands, Dominica, El Salvador, French Guiana, Grenada, Guadeloupe, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Martinique, St Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago and Turks & Caicos. Digicel also has a license in the British Virgin Islands and coverage in St. Martin and St. Barths.

The company is the lead sponsor of Caribbean sports teams including the West Indies Cricket Team, Special Olympics teams across the Caribbean and is title sponsor of the Digicel Caribbean Football Union Cup, which involves over 30 Caribbean countries and is an important qualifier towards the CONCACAF Gold Cup. Visit www.digicelgroup.com for more information on Digicel.”*

*From: http://www.marketwire.com
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

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