Dish Network appointed an experienced MVNO executive to lead Boost Mobile, naming Stephen Stokols as EVP of the brand as it looks to grow its new mobile business and fend off prepaid advances from Verizon.

In a statement, Dish COO and president of retail wireless John Swieringa praised the former FreedomPop CEO’s “history of disruption in the consumer wireless business”, adding Stokols brings “experience and ingenuity that will be instrumental” to Boost Mobile’s growth.

The appointment comes little more than a year after Stokols led a bid to buy Boost Mobile, before the US Department of Justice approved an arrangement requiring the brand to be sold to Dish Network following T-Mobile US and Sprint’s merger.

Stokols stated his focus will be on “bringing new innovations to the market” and increasing availability of Boost Mobile’s products across all channels: he told Reuters this involves growing online sales and offering flexible tariffs for customers who use less than 5GB of data per month.

Dish Network closed a $1.4 billion deal to acquire Boost Mobile’s 9.3 million customers in July, but faces the prospect of increased competition from Verizon following the operator’s purchase of prepaid giant Tracfone earlier this month.