Derek was appointed Chief Operating Officer of Telefónica UK Limited in January 2011 and is responsible for customer service, network, IT, cross business transformation, fraud & security and property for the Group. Derek has 34 years' experience in the telecommunications industry in various technical and business roles, of which 31 years have been in mobile. Derek has been with the Group for 16 years, becoming a member of Telefónica UK’s Executive Team as Chief Technology Officer in April 2007 before becoming Chief Operating Officer.
Derek holds an MSc in Telecommunications Business from University College London and has held a number of other positions within the wider Group, including Director of Innovation & Development and a member of the CBI Infrastructure Board. He is currently the chairman of CTIL, the 50:50 joint venture company set up as part of the network sharing arrangement between Telefonica UK Limited and Vodafone, and is a member of the Digital Advisory Board for Shop Direct Ltd.