Former EY VODW consultant joins management of T-Mobile Austria

T-Mobile has appointed Jan Willem Stapel as head of its consumer business division in Austria. The Dutchman took the role on October 1st, and as part of his mandate has become a member of T-Mobile Austria’s management board. 

Jan Willem Stapel (39) spent the past nine years working for KPN, the largest telecommunications company in the Netherlands, most recently as Director Marketing of the Consumer Market business. Before that, Stapel worked for the Dutch bank Fortis in the US and as a senior consultant for 2.5 years at VODW, a Dutch consulting firm that was recently acquired by professional services giant EY. Prior to that, Stapel was involved with international projects at among others Dutch multinationals ABN Amro (the establishment of a sales office in New York) and FrieslandCampina (the introduction of one of the firm’s cheese product lines in Vietnam).

At T-Mobile, Stapel will manage the private customer business of the telecom operator. His appointment coincides with the organisational closing of the merger between T-Mobile Austria and UPC Austria – the German telco acquired Austria’s largest cable operator for €1.9 billion at the end of 2017. The move, which was Deutsche Telekom’s (the parent of T-Mobile) most expensive cash investment in the past 10 to 15 years, increased T-Mobile Austria’s annual revenue to €1.25 billion and its staff to 2,524 employees. In July the European Commission green-lit the deal after its due diligence concluded that the merged entity would continue to face “significant competition” from rivals like A1 Telekom Austria and Hutchison Drei Austria.

“With Jan Willem Stapel, we bring a very successful top manager to Vienna, who has many years of experience with products and services for consumers,” said Andreas Bierwirth, CEO of T-Mobile Austria and UPC Austria.

Commenting on his new challenge, Stapel said, “The merger of T-Mobile with UPC is like building a brand new company from two strong parts. The convergence of mobile and fixed Internet, with the ability to use entertainment and digital content anytime and on all types of devices, offers consumers many exciting opportunities. That's why I'm delighted to be able to leverage my experience in this area to expand T-Mobile’s offering.”

Jan Willem Stapel is a graduate of the University of Groningen and a number of other international business schools, including the Kellogg School of Management in Chicago and the IMD Business School in Lausanne. His family has moved with him to Vienna.

Earlier this year, T-Mobile Austria appointed Sabine Bothe as Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) – she is responsible for all human capital related activities, including the human resources tasks for the post-merger integration.

Meanwhile, in other top appointments in Austria, Big Four firm this summer EY admitted six advisors into its Austrian partnership, while global management consultancy A.T. Kearney promoted Vienna-based Robert Kromoser to Partner in the firm’s Automotive practice.