Simon Groves, Virgin Media O2’s director of brand and marketing, has departed the company nearly 25 years after first joining O2.

Groves began his journey with O2 in 2000 as a corporate strategy and development manager, eventually rising to the position of director of brand, marketing, and customer experience strategy. He left in 2012 to become the CMO of Tesco Mobile.

After returning to O2 six years later, Groves took on the role of commercial marketing director for consumer and SMB, before being appointed director of brand and marcomms in 2019.

In a statement provided to Campaign, a Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said: “Simon has taken the decision to leave the business and has stepped down from his role as director of brand and marketing.

“We thank him for his incredible dedication and contribution over the last 23 years at O2, and more recently Virgin Media O2, and wish him all the best for the future.

“Under his leadership, Simon successfully built a talented brand and marketing team who have delivered some of the company’s biggest and most iconic marketing ventures.

“From putting The O2 into Fortnite to the launch of Virgin Media O2’s combined offering Volt, bringing to life customer-first offerings like inclusive roaming and Priority as well as leading the re-negotiation of key media relationships and driving the continued growth of both the O2 and Virgin Media brands.”

A successor has not yet been named, the telecoms giant announced.