Telefónica and Accenture executives join TM Forum Board of Trustees

TM Forum, the industry association driving digital transformation through collaboration, announces new additions to its Board of Trustees.

Telefónica’s Enrique Blanco and Accenture’s Kathleen O’Reilly each represent long-standing, highly engaged members of the Forum and are strong supporters of the Forum’s flagship Open Digital Architecture (ODA) and Open API programs, which enable long-term resilience of the telecoms industry.

Enrique Blanco, Global CTIO, Telefónica, further strengthens the Forum’s senior technology leadership. His deep knowledge of telecoms networks and IT is critical to unlocking future growth for the industry. Enrique also strengthens the Board’s representation for Latin America, as Telefónica is one of the region’s largest operator groups.

Kathleen O’Reilly, Global Communications, Media & Technology Industry Practices Chair, Accenture, brings in-depth knowledge of the global TMT sector and a proven track record in strategic leadership – adding a unique perspective to the Board and strengthening its strategic capabilities. Accenture is a global professional services company with leading capabilities in digital, cloud and security, and an active TM Forum member.

Nik Willetts, CEO, TM Forum comments: “I am delighted to welcome Kathleen and Enrique to the Board at a pivotal time for the industry. Their extensive experience, knowledge, and expertise, paired with their personal advocacy for innovation, co-creation, and industry change, will prove invaluable in driving the industry transformation required to delight customers, unlock growth, and deliver the full benefits of exciting new technologies for societies and the planet.”

The TM Forum Board of Trustees sets the Forum’s strategy to serve the needs of the industry, representing its 700+ member organisations, overseeing direction, priorities and strategic initiatives. In 2023, the Board’s focuses will include driving transformation of the telco tech stack via ODA and Open APIs; scaling use of data to drive automation with ML/AI and facilitating game-changing innovation through the Forum’s Catalyst program. Each of these priority areas aims to act as an anchor for industry growth, resilience and relevance in 2023 and beyond.

On the appointment, Steffen Roehn, Chairman, TM Forum comments: “It’s fantastic to have Kathleen and Enrique join the Board as we head into the new year. They will play a critical role in bringing the network, IT and system integrator communities together to deliver on the Forum’s priorities for next year and help drive innovation and co-creation for our industry. Both bring a personal passion for driving the future of our industry to our board of activists.”

Enrique Blanco, CTIO, Telefónica said: “Telefónica is proud to join the TM Forum Board. All industry collaboration is key to defining open models in the telco environment. The role of TM Forum is essential in driving an Open Digital Architecture, a true enabler of this radical architectural and cultural change, offering telco operators an end-to-end migration path from legacy systems to modular, cloud-native IT components, providing a blueprint to deliver intelligent operations fit for the 5G era and beyond.”

Kathleen O’Reilly, Global Communications, Media & Technology Industry Practices Chair, Accenture, said: “The next wave of transformation for telcos will have software at its core, combined with the right leadership and talent agenda and ecosystem relationships. In order to grow revenues profitably, communications providers must embrace change, build highly agile and scalable services, adopt new business and operating models and establish partnerships to ensure they have extended reach in delivering digital services. By working closely with TM Forum on initiatives such as Open Digital Architecture, talent diversity, and learning programs, we can help power the next wave of innovation and drive transformative change in the industry.”

CT Bureau