Vodafone Group named Stefano Gastaut, current CEO of its Egyptian business, as the new global director of its IoT unit.

In a statement, Vodafone said the appointment will be effective from 1 January 2018, with Gastaut replacing Ivo Rook who left the role to join Sprint’s IoT team in June.

Gastaut will take on the role at a time when the company continues to accelerates its IoT strategy following the launch of V by Vodafone (its consumer IoT offering) in November, as well as an intensified focus on its enterprise offering.

The new IoT director spent two years as head of Vodafone Egypt, a period during which the operator launched 4G and grew its market share from 40 per cent to 45 per cent, the company stated.

Prior to his role in Egypt, Gastaut was CEO of Vodafone’s Partner Markets business.

Commenting on his appointment, Gastaut said IoT will play a significant role in many businesses globally: “I am confident that Vodafone will be the first choice partner to help customers use IoT to succeed in a digital world.”

Vodafone stated its IoT segment generates more than €700 million in revenue, manages 62 million IoT SIMs and supports services in more than 190 countries.