Three hires Chief Network Officer to advance 5G rollout

Three’s senior management restructure has continued with the appointment of Carlo Melis as Chief Network Officer.

He joins from Italian operator Wind Tre, which is also owned by Three’s parent company CK Hutchison. Melis spent 14 years at Wind before it merged with Three Italia in 2016 and was responsible for the network integration between the two companies.

While his immediate focus will be on maintaining the resiliency of Three UK’s network during the coronavirus crisis, his primary role will be to continue the upgrade of the operator’s 4G infrastructure and the rollout of its 5G service.

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“Three has been on an incredible journey, completely overhauling its network and IT infrastructure and laying the foundations for a 5G network that will dramatically transform the experience for its customers, at the same time as delivering major 4G improvements,” said Melis. “I’m looking forward to joining Three, bringing my expertise to build on the great progress already achieved and to deliver a network that will stand the business in good stead long into the future.”

“We are delighted to have Carlo join our team. His extensive experience in network strategy and architecture will be vital to delivering the maximum customer benefit from our multibillion investment in technology,” added Susan Buttsworth, Three COO.

Three has made several moves to shore up its leadership team in recent months. Buttsworth herself is also a relatively recent addition to the Three management team having moved over from CK Hutchison Innovations Opportunities Development, while Elaine Carey was appointed as Chief Commercial Officer in March 2020, joining from Three Ireland.

The biggest change however was the departure of Dave Dyson as CEO. He was replaced by Three Ireland CEO Robert Finnegan, who is now responsible for both countries, as CK Hutchison seeks closer ties between the two.

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