US-based private network specialist Celona tapped a trio of experienced executives to lead a European push, part of global expansion plans detailed by co-founder and CEO Rajeev Shah earlier this year.

Celona tapped former Qualcomm Technologies and Ericsson executive Sanjeet Pandit (pictured) as its VP of global relations with operators and ecosystems.

Although the company issued details of this yesterday (12 June), Pandit’s LinkedIn page shows he took up the role in May 2022.

He previously held various roles at Qualcomm, including global head of smart cities.

Celona also highlighted the appointments of Paul Donovan and Graham Duthie to aid in a push of its 5G LAN products and technology.

Their respective LinkedIn profiles show this happened in February, with Donovan named VP of EMEA and Duthie director of systems engineering for EMEA.

The company stated it is on a recruitment drive and signing up partners in Germany, the UK and other European nations.

Celona cited an IDC forecast the EMEA market will be worth $1.9 billion by 2026.

The network vendor had some success in the US market, securing a deal with Verizon Business for its CBRS-based product in 2022.

While CBRS spectrum largely fuelled Celona’s private network deployments in the US, European regulators allocated spectrum directly to businesses rather than operators.