Stanford will be responsible for the Samsung Mobile business in the UK and Ireland, specifically driving the company’s ‘smartphone for everyone’ strategy with hero launches planned for this year. He will also be focused on strengthening the company’s Prepay and Postpay proposition in the second half of the year, as well as expanding the business through associated sales of MP3s.
Stanford joined Samsung in September 2009 as sales director for Samsung Mobile. In this role, he has overseen the successful launches of Galaxy Portal, Diva and Monte handsets. He has been focused on recruiting across the retail and distribution channels and delivering best in class field marketing and training.
David Song, managing director, Samsung UK, commented on the appointment: “Simon has significant sales and marketing experience developed over twelve years within the UK mobile industry. Simon will be a key asset to Samsung as we strengthen our market position and we welcome him into this new role. It is an exciting time for the business and he will be leading a highly motivated and passionate team to continue our success.”
Prior to joining the Samsung, Stanford was with Telefonica O2 UK for six years, where he held the position of head of connected markets. In this role, he was responsible for the overall general management of the Retail, Services, Media, Leisure, IT and Telcos sectors, ensuring effective collaboration across sales, marketing and product development.
Prior to joining O2, Stanford worked in marketing roles at T-Mobile UK and Orange.