Sergi Herrero has been appointed COO of Veon Ventures, effective September.
He will sit on Veon’s group executive committee and report to Ursula Burns, the chairman and CEO.
Herrero is currently Facebook’s global director of payments and commerce partnerships, where he has overseen the launch and growth of payment and commerce capabilities for Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. He has also led the deployment of Charitable Giving, the scaling and optimisation of the Facebook Ads payments business and driven the expansion of the platform’s global marketplace. Before joining Facebook in 2014, he held several senior roles in technology, banking and consulting.
At Veon, he will lead the new Ventures division and define the company’s growth plans beyond traditional connectivity, with a focus on adjacent, digital products.
Commenting on Herrero’s appointment, Burns said: “Sergi brings a wealth of experience and success from the world’s largest social network and his appointment is a sign of Veon’s intent with new revenue streams across our operating footprint.”
Herrero added: “Veon operates in some of the world’s most dynamic countries with relatively low smartphone ownership and young, growing populations who are increasingly demanding more digital services. This is clearly a commercial opportunity that Veon is well placed to capture.”