Telstra targets European sales

Australian telecoms giant Telstra has appointed a marketing

director to handle its expansion across Europe and challenge established

telecoms brands.

John Callanan takes on the newly created position of director of sales,

marketing and strategy for the UK and Europe.

The company plans to double the size of its UK office next year, taking

total staff to around 300.

It appointed Harrison Patten Troughton Brand Response in July to handle

its pounds 2m relationship marketing activity.

The company is also poised to open an office in Germany and says it will

continue to launch new products and services.

It is currently testing a service allowing customers in Sydney to make

telephone calls to London over the internet.

Based at its London headquarters, Callanan will work across the four

divisions of global consultancy, strategy, marketing and sales and will

report to chief executive Steve Demetriou, who was appointed in

July.

Telstra has 60,000 staff worldwide and a presence in more than 30

countries.

Its main UK clients include Hilton International, Pearl Assurance and

British Aerospace.

Callanan was previously based at Telstra’s Australian headquarters where

he was responsible for sales and marketing operations in its wholesale

division.

’This is a very exciting time to be coming here because of the numerous

opportunities for expansion resulting from deregulation of Europe’s

telecommunications market,’ said Callanan.

This article was first published on Marketing