Telstra International Group today announced the appointment of Mr Martijn Blanken to the role of Chief Operating Officer of Telstra International.
Based in Hong Kong, Mr Blanken will report to Mr Tarek Robbiati, Group Managing Director of Telstra International Group and will be responsible for Telstra International’s global network, IT and operations, as well as the strategic planning and control of the group’s technology roadmap.
Mr Robbiati said the appointment of the new COO is another example of the group’s focus on having the best people leading the business.
“With more than 16 years of sales, marketing, operational and executive management experience in telecommunications, software and service integration businesses, Martijn brings extensive expertise and talent to Telstra International.
“Martijn will play an integral role in realising the benefits of our recently-added capabilities from Reach and will be a key driver of the group’s strategy to deliver greater customer and shareholder value,” said Mr Robbiati.
Mr Blanken joined Telstra in 2009 and has led a major restructure program focused on growing the Network Applications and Services business. During this time, Telstra has strengthened its position in these markets significantly by achieving double digit growth for sales and simultaneously improving profitability.
Prior to joining Telstra, Mr Blanken was the General Manager and Vice President, Asia Pacific and Japan for Openwave Systems. Mr Blanken has also held several senior positions at KPN Royal Dutch Telecom, most recently as Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the Managed Services and Outsourcing Division, and held non-executive board directorships for several KPN Royal Dutch Telecom joint ventures.
Mr Blanken holds a MBA from the University of Groningen, the Netherlands.