BY JULIAN RICHARDSON Assistant Business Co-ordinator richardsonj@jamaicaobserver.com
FIVE managers from the Digicel Group will relocate from Jamaica to a new corporate office in Dublin, Ireland.It is being reported in Ireland that Digicel will establish a corporate base in Dublin from where Group CEO Colm Delves, Chief Financial Officer Lawrence Hickey, Head of Investor relations Brian Devine, and a couple other senior members of the management team will oversee the group operations. In response to Caribbean Business Report queries, Digicel’s head of group public relations Antonia Graham confirmed the relocation of five managers “over the coming weeks”, but did not state their identities.“Digicel can confirm that five members of staff from its group operations based here in Jamaica are relocating to be based in Dublin, Ireland,” Graham said, noting that the responsibilities of those five staff members will be unchanged.According to Graham, “This move is being made to better manage the various time zones across Digicel’s 31 markets across the Caribbean, Central America and the Pacific.”Indeed, the move will raise questions as to whether Digicel’s corporate base truly remains in Jamaica, where the group has called home since its emergence in 2001. The firm last year opened an impressive 11-storey office in downtown Kingston, labelling it as its “global headquarters”.Graham noted, “Jamaica will continue to be the location of Digicel Group’s regional headquarters.”According to a report by the Irish Independent, Delves has wanted to return to his homeland for a while, and bought an eight-bedroom house in Dalkey last year. Delves has been the firm’s chief executive since 2005. The publication stated that the company plans to open offices on Shelbourne Road in south Dublin.The move may also be seen by some as an indication of Digicel’s mission to expand its international footprint. While Jamaica has been its base since inception, the country is no longer Digicel’s top earner in the Caribbean, with the market being surpassed by Haiti last year.Last month, a consortium led by Digicel Group, failed in its bid to secure one of two telecommunications licences on offer in Myanmar, southeast Asia. But the firm said it would look at other opportunities in Myanmar and other territorities.Digicel announced in February that it had officially submitted its expression of interest in acquiring a licence to operate a telecom-munications network in Myanmar. Denis O’Brien had already said he was prepared to invest up to US$1 billion torwards developing the system.The telecommunications giant recently reported EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) of US$1.2 billion for the year ending March 31, 2013, up 11 per cent year on year. Its subscriber-base stood at 12.9 million worldwide at the end of the period, with revenue growth driven in particular by Haiti, Papua New Guinea, Trinidad & Tobago, and Suriname, the company said.Digicel Group CEO Colm Delves and other top executives are reportedly heading back to Ireland.View the original article here
Digicel top execs moving to Dublin offices
