Digicel Group is a Digital Operator based in Kingston, Jamaica. Digicel is one of the fastest growing telecommunications companies. It has quickly expanded to serve markets across the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific regions. Digicel has over 13 million subscribers with services like mobile phone, broadband and wireless, cable, managed IT services and more. Founded in 2001 by Irish entrepreneur and philanthropist Denis O’Brien, Digicel’s largest markets include Jamaica, Haiti, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad and Tobago.

Telecommunications

Digicel Group

John Townsend joined Digicel Group as Chief Financial Officer after spending roughly 10 years at Verizon in the CFO capacity across various areas of the business. Having previously worked at two of the world’s largest telecommunications companies, Verizon and Vodafone, with responsibility for billions of dollars in revenue, his financial background, coupled with his extensive experience in telecoms, brings a fresh perspective to Digicel’s markets in the Caribbean and Central America.

Over his career as a Chief Financial Officer, John gained experience in business and consumer operations, wireless, wireline, enterprise solutions, supply chain management and logistics, carrier relations and new business models, making him an all-rounder when it comes to the business of telecommunications. He was also CFO for Vodafone Europe, UK and Australia and earned his BA (Econ) Hons in accounting and business finance from The University of Manchester.

John Townsend

Tristan Gilbertson is Group General Counsel at [Digicel Group](/org/digicel-group). Tristan has over 18 years of experience in the telecommunications and technology industries, and has been with Digicel since January 2017. 

Previously, Tristan was General Counsel - Asia-Pacific at [Digicel Group](/org/digicel-group) from January 2014 to December 2017, where they repositioned the regional function as a proactive, commercially-focused and results-driven business partner supporting business development and improvement with strategic advice on key legal, regulatory, and governance issues. 

Before joining Digicel, Tristan was Legal Director - Asia-Pacific at Telecom New Zealand from January 2008 to December 2012, where they provided strategic legal and regulatory advice to the Board and Executive Team on a broad range of commercial, regulatory and compliance matters across the Asia-Pacific region. 

Tristan has also held positions as Legal & Regulatory Director - Asia-Pacific Region at [Vodafone](/org/vodafone) from January 2002 to December 2006, and as Legal Director - Asia-Pacific at [VMware](/org/vmware) from January 2007 to December 2008. 

Tristan is a member of the New Zealand Law Society and the Australian & New Zealand Communications Law Association. Tristan has a Bachelor of Laws (LLB) from Victoria University of Wellington.

Tristan Gilbertson has completed an Executive Leadership Development Programme from the University of Pennsylvania - The Wharton School. Tristan has also completed a Bachelor of Arts in Japanese Language and Literature from The University of Auckland, as well as a Bachelor of Laws in Law from The University of Auckland.

Some of their coworkers include Martha Tate - Group Chief Business Officer, David Lomas - Group CFO, and Stephen Blewett - Group Chief Operating Officer. Tristan Gilbertson reports to Oliver Coughlan, Group Chief Executive Officer.

Tristan Gilbertson

Kaan Terzioglu is a Non-Executive Director at [Digicel Group](/org/digicel-group) and a vocal advocate of humanitarian causes. Kaan has been elected as a Board Member of the [GSMA](/org/gsma) Foundation and serves on the Advisory Board of the Center for the Fourth Industrial Revolution of the [World Economic Forum](/org/world-economic-forum). In 2017, they were chosen as one of the 10 global private sector pioneers who have contributed to UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by the UN Global Compact.

Kaan Terzioglu was previously the Chief Executive Officer at [Turkcell](/org/turkcell) from April 2015 to April 2019. During their time at [Turkcell](/org/turkcell), they were also a Supervisory Board Member at Abdi Ibrahim Pharmaceuticals from December 2013 to April 2015 and a Member Board of Directors at [Carrefour](/org/carrefour) from February 2013 to April 2015. Prior to [Turkcell](/org/turkcell), they were at [GSMA](/org/gsma) from October 2015 to March 2019 where they served as a member of the board.

Kaan Terzioglu graduated from English High School Istanbul before going on to study Business Administration at [Boğaziçi University](/org/bogazici-university).

Kaan Terzioglu

Gyorgy Zsembery is the Group Chief Executive Officer, Home and Entertainment at [Digicel Group](/org/digicel-group). Gyorgy has previously served as the Vice Chairman of the Board at VOLIA from January 2013 to January 2020, and as the chief operating officer at Invitel from April 2004 to December 2012. Zsembery has also worked as the head of business development at Budapest Bank and GE Capital from August 2000 to April 2004.

Gyorgy Zsembery holds a Master of Science in marketing and foreign trade from [Corvinus University of Budapest](/org/corvinus-university-of-budapest). Gyorgy also has a law degree for economists from ELTE University of Law and completed executive education programs at the University of Chicago and [London Business School](/org/london-business-school).

Gyorgy Zsembery reports to Oliver Coughlan, Group Chief Executive Officer. Gyorgy Zsembery works with Martha Tate - Group Chief Business Officer, David Lomas - Group CFO, and Stephen Blewett - Group Chief Operating Officer.

Gyorgy Zsembery

Sjoerd Geels is the Group Chief Information Officer at [Digicel Group](/org/digicel-group). Sjoerd was previously the CEO of Telenor Global Shared Services from August 2015 to January 2020. Prior to that, they were the Director of IT IS Nordics at Cognizant Technology Solutions from April 2012 to June 2015, where they were responsible for the Nordic Regional IT IS P&L and for growing the ITIS Nordics Business by 40% YOY. Sjoerd has also held positions as the Rightshore Delivery Director Infrastructure Management at Capgemini Outsourcing and as an IM Projectleader at Werklinq.

Sjoerd Geels has earned a MBA from Newport Business University, a Bachelor of Information and Communication Technology from Novi Institute of Higher Education, and a Master of Art and Cultural Sciences from [Erasmus University Rotterdam](/org/erasmus-university-rotterdam). Sjoerd also has a certification from INSEAD in Telenor Strategy Execution Online Programme.

Their manager is Oliver Coughlan, Group Chief Executive Officer. They are on a team with Martha Tate - Group Chief Business Officer, Julian Burton - Group Chief Digital Officer, and Peter Lloyd - Chief Marketing Officer.

Sjoerd Geels

Julian Burton is the Group Chief Digital Officer at [Digicel Group](/org/digicel-group). Julian has over 20 years' experience in strategy development, business optimisation and commercial projects. 

Julian has a proven track record in working with CEOs, Business Owners and Senior Management Teams to drive growth and long-term business development. Julian has a deep understanding of financial and commercial positions, full P&L analysis, implementation of measurable performance metrics (KPIs) and embedding cross-functional improvements.

Julian has worked on global B2B & B2C Propositions, Customer Journey, Market Execution, Customer Activation, Commercial Management (P&L, Cash Flow, Stock Control & KPI Metrics), Sales Pipeline & Business Development Strategy (Europe & US Growth Strategy), Process Simplification & Control, Business Intelligence & Reporting Analytics and Cross-Functional Working (removed silos between Sales, Marketing & Finance).

Julian Burton attended The Wharton School, where they studied business leadership and organizational leadership. Julian also holds a B.Sc. from the [University of Southampton](/org/university-of-southampton) in law and politics. Additionally, they have a certification from Wharton Online in customer analytics.

Julian Burton works with Martha Tate - Group Chief Business Officer, Sjoerd Geels - Group Chief Information Officer, and David Lomas - Group CFO. Julian Burton reports to Oliver Coughlan, Group Chief Executive Officer.

Julian Burton

Peter Lloyd is the current Chief Marketing Officer at [Digicel Group](/org/digicel-group). Peter has held this position since October of 2009, and prior to that they were the Head of Advertising for the company. Lloyd has also worked as a Senior Account Manager for McConnells Advertising. In this role, they worked with a number of high-profile clients such as BMW, MINI, IDA, Kellogg's, Ballygowan, Club Orange, EIR, and the Department of Transport. Lloyd has extensive experience in developing and executing integrated marketing campaigns that span multiple platforms. Under their leadership, [Digicel Group](/org/digicel-group)'s brand performance elevated to No.1 in social media platforms region-wide, gaining over 2.2M customers. In addition, they led strategy and execution of brand, sponsorship, and product campaigns featuring iconic Brand Ambassador Usain Bolt. These campaigns have been successful both nationally and internationally, earning 6 Caribbean Advertising Federation American Advertising Awards (ADDYs) and 2 international Kinsale Shark Awards.

Peter Lloyd's educational career includes completing an executive leadership program at The Wharton School and earning an honours degree in marketing from Technological University Dublin.

Peter Lloyd reports to Oliver Coughlan, Group Chief Executive Officer. They work with Stephen Blewett - Group Chief Operating Officer, Bryan Gonzales - Group Chief People Officer, and Gyorgy Zsembery - Group Chief Executive Officer, Home and Entertainment.

Peter Lloyd

Daven Govender is the Group Chief Customer Officer at [Digicel Group](/org/digicel-group). Daven has over 10 years experience in customer experience and operations management. 

Daven started their career in 2009 as an Operations Manager at Carphone Warehouse. Daven then moved to Merchants (South African Airways) in 2010 as their Operations Manager. In 2012, Daven joined Vodacom as Programme Manager - Enterprise Business. And in 2015, they moved to Digicel Pacific as their Customer Experience Director. In 2020, Daven was promoted to Group Chief Customer Officer at [Digicel Group](/org/digicel-group). 

Daven Govender is a customer experience and operations management expert with over 10 years of experience. Daven is currently the Group Chief Customer Officer at [Digicel Group](/org/digicel-group).

Daven Govender has a degree in Business Administration and Management from Stellenbosch Business School. Daven has worked in various businesses in South Africa and is currently the CEO of a successful company.

They work with Julian Burton - Group Chief Digital Officer, Bryan Gonzales - Group Chief People Officer, and David Lomas - Group CFO. Their manager is Oliver Coughlan, Group Chief Executive Officer.

Daven Govender

Bryan Gonzales joined Digicel Group in August 2020 as Chief People Officer. No stranger to the business, Bryan has spent the past 12 years working with Digicel in the Human Resources function and first started in 2009 as Human Resources & Facilities Director in Digicel Haiti.

Over the years, he has also served as Human Resources & Corporate Affairs Director, Head of People Operations, and Director of Human Resources Haiti & Group Industrial Relations. Doing double duty, Bryan is also a long-standing member of the Digicel Business Continuity Management team, making sure that in the event of a crisis, Digicel is well equipped and ready to roll when needed.

Prior to joining Digicel, Bryan worked with Compagnie des Tabacs Comme Il Faut in Haiti. With a background in general operations, supply chain management, human resources, risk management, and business continuity, and a founding member of several startups, Bryan has spent 20+ years working across industries to recognise and promote a culture of openness, innovation, and quality, while maintaining the focus on people.

Bryan Gonzales

As Chief Operating Officer, Stephen Blewett plays a pivotal part in building out the next phase of success for Digicel Group. He joined Digicel from MTN where he was CEO in Cameroon for two years – as well as being Chairman of MTN Mobile Money. Prior to that, he was CEO of MTN in Benin from 2015 to 2020.

Stephen has worked at the senior executive level for over 20 years for telecoms operators like Telkom and Vodacom. Bringing with him valuable experience of operating and winning in developing markets having also worked in South Africa, Mozambique and Namibia, he has had particular success in driving results and developing high performing teams.

Stephen has a demonstrated history of working in the telecommunications industry, and is skilled in negotiation, business planning, customer experience, business development and marketing strategy. He is a strong business development professional with a Bachelor of Commerce degree focused in Economics; Business Administration and Marketing from University of KwaZulu-Natal.      

Stephen Blewett

Martin Banjo

Cilicia Albert

Ken S

As head of Digicel Business, the region’s leading full service business solutions partner, Martha ensures the delivery of secure and reliable business solutions to keep businesses connected to their customers. She is a technology veteran with more than 25 years of experience working on a national and multi-national level for some of the biggest names in the industry, like Level 3 Communications (now Lumen), Comcast Business Solutions and [Verizon](/org/verizon-communications)/MCI. 

Martha joined Digicel from [Infinera](/org/infinera) where she was Vice President, Strategic Sales. With proven success in enterprise/government sales engagement, and a background in sales, sales operations, market development, business planning, network planning, regulatory affairs and marketing/PR, she has also held senior roles in [Allstream](/org/allstream-inc) and Electric Lightwave, both members of the [Zayo Group](/org/zayo-group).

Martha studied at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, majoring in International Business with a minor in Economics, and subsequently went on to complete the Executive Management Programme (Business Finance & Administration) at Elmhurst University.

Martha Tate

Ms. Dominique Mielle was a partner at Canyon Capital Advisors, LLC (“Canyon”) from August 1998 to December 2017 where she primarily focused on the transportation, technology, retail and consumer products sectors, specialized in corporate and municipal bond securitizations and was responsible for all aspects of Canyon’s collateralized loan obligations business. Ms. Mielle has over 25 years of experience on Wall Street and was named one of the “Top 50 Women in Hedge Funds” by Ernst & Young in 2017. Before 1998, she worked at various investment banks, including Libra Investments, Lehman Brothers and Credit Lyonnais.

Ms. Mielle has played key roles in complicated bankruptcies where public safety and the economic well-being of the public were critical issues requiring extensive engagement with government entities, regulatory agencies and affected communities. Ms. Mielle was a member of the creditors' committee for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and also served as a restructuring committee member for [American Airlines](/org/american-airlines), Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Northwest Airlines and [United Airlines](/org/united-airlines) in the wake of the September 11 attacks. Ms. Mielle is a long-time California resident.


Ms. Mielle was a director and the Audit Committee Chairman of PG&E Corporation and Pacific Gas and Electric Company from April 2019 to June 2020.  She currently serves on the boards of Anworth Mortgage Asset Corporation, a mortgage REIT investment firm, (2018 to present), Studio City International, a casino in Macau (2018 to present) and Tiptree Inc., a specialty insurance company (2020 to present).

Dominique Mielle

Lawrence joined Digicel in December 2002 as Financial Controller for the Jamaica operation before being appointed to the role of Finance Director (Jamaica) in August 2003. Lawrence was formally appointed to the role of Chief Financial Officer in March 2006 – a role he held until December 2017.

Lawrence qualified as a Chartered Accountant with [KPMG](/org/kpmg) in 1994 and post-qualification, he joined Grafton Group Plc, an Irish-based publicly quoted company where he held the position of Group Management Accountant. Prior to joining Digicel, Lawrence was the Finance Manager with Esat Telecom in Ireland, where he was responsible for all financial management and financial reporting requirements of Esat Telecom and played a key role in the consolidation of the company’s business and consumer divisions.

Lawrence Hickey

Oliver Coughlan was appointed as Chief Executive of Digicel’s operations in the Caribbean and Central America in July 2020. Prior to this, he served as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Digicel Pacific Limited. He brings more than 20 years senior management experience to the role and first joined Digicel in 2014 after leaving edotco Group, the first regional and integrated telecommunications infrastructure services company in Asia. There, he held the position of Chief Operations Officer for operations in Myanmar, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Cambodia.

Before edotco, Oliver previously served as CEO of Digicel Myanmar Tower Company and has also held senior management roles at Esat Digifone where he was CTO/CIO and a member of the Board of Directors for over eight years. He studied at the [Cork Institute of Technology](/org/cork-institute-of-technology) where he later went on to lecture in the Electrical Engineering Department for five years.

Oliver Coughlan

Conor is a Chartered Accountant, having worked with Deloitte in Ireland and KPMG in the Cayman Islands. Subsequently, he held Senior Executive leadership positions for over 20 years with Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Ltd, a NYSE-listed bank headquartered in Bermuda and operating globally. Conor was a Director of the bank and Chairman of the Risk Committee of the Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Ltd from 2016-2021.

Conor has extensive Caribbean and global financial services experience. He has been resident in the Cayman Islands since 1985 and has held various voluntary positions as Chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and the Bankers Association. He is presently Chairman of Cayman Finance which is the leading association for the Financial Services Industry in Cayman. He also holds directorships of several private companies operating in the insurance and media industries.

Conor is the current Chairman of the Board of Digicel Cayman Limited.  He is also Chairman of the Board of Prism Services Holdings Limited, Digicel’s Mobile Financial Services Group.

Conor O'Dea

Denis O’Brien is an entrepreneur, Chairman of [Digicel Group](/org/digicel-group) and philanthropist from Dublin, Ireland. O’Brien founded numerous enterprises and sits on organisation boards in both industry and philanthropy. He studied at University College Dublin, receiving a BA in Politics and History, followed by earning an MBA in Corporate Finance from [Boston College](/org/boston-college) in 1982. 

Denis O’Brien founded Communicorp in 1989, started Esat Telecom in 1991 and, after the sale of Esat, founded [Digicel Group](/org/digicel-group) in 2001. Digicel is a Digital Operator in over 32 telecommunications markets across the Caribbean, Central America and Asia Pacific regions delivering mobile, broadband, entertainment and managed IT services to more than 13 million customers.

In addition to Denis O’Brien’s substantial business interests and holdings, he also pursues philanthropic endeavours. O’Brien is the founder and patron of the Digicel Foundation, which has invested US$156 million into communities in Haiti, Jamaica, Papua New Guinea and Trinidad & Tobago, focusing on access to education, COVID-19 resources and more. Denis O’Brien’s foundation has transformed educational access in Papua New Guinea and Haiti and restored hurricane-ravaged areas of Jamaica.

Denis O’Brien has kept a special focus on supporting education initiatives amongst his philanthropic efforts, which has included generous contributions to his alma maters. At University College Dublin, he gifted the O’Brien Centre for Science which has helped the university grow its scientific community. Additionally, O’Brien established the O’Brien Fellowship at [Boston College](/org/boston-college) Carroll School of Management in which recipients receive full financial coverage for tuition, books, fees, living expenses, and international travel for their MBA programme.

Denis O’Brien is also involved in human rights, special needs efforts and expanding broadband access to disadvantaged communities. O’Brien founded the Iris O’Brien Foundation, an advocacy organisation focused on human rights, special needs assistance, educational programmes, disaster aid and more. He’s the Chairman of the Council of Patrons for Special Olympics Ireland and is on Concern Worldwide US’ board. Denis O’Brien also serves as Chairman of the Haiti Action Network under the Clinton Global Initiative and as a [United Nations](/org/united-nations) Broadband Commissioner for Digital Development.

Digicel Group

Org chart

Teams

Leadership Team

CEO and Executive Team

Board of Directors

Discover similar companies