Newly appointed Orange U.K. Chief Executive Tom Alexander has hired three senior managers from his old business Virgin Mobile in an effort to strengthen his management team. Andrew Ralston, former Customer Relations Director at Virgin Mobile, joins as Chief Operations Officer. One-time Virgin Mobile Operations Director Gerry McQuade joins as Chief Development Officer, while Steven Day, formerly Virgin Mobile’s Head of Corporate Affairs, will become Orange’s Chief of Staff and Communications.

Orange, the U.K.’s third largest mobile operator and owned by France Telecom, appointed Alexander three months ago following the departure of former U.K. Chief Executive Bernard Ghillebaert. The U.K. business saw gross operating profit fall by 6.9% to €712 million in the first half of 2007.