International Telecom Veteran Benoit Scheen Joins Brightstar Corp. as President of EMEA

Benoit Scheen joins Brightstar with more than 25 years of leadership experience in the international telecom, media and technology markets

MIAMI – Brightstar Corp., the world’s leading mobile products, services and technology organization, announced today that Benoit Scheen has joined the company as President of Brightstar’s Europe, Middle East, Turkey and Africa region, effective immediately. Based in London, Scheen will report to Jaymin B. Patel, Brightstar President and CEO, and will assume responsibility for all Brightstar business in EMEA and the growth and integration of wireless distribution and services. Brightstar currently serves device and accessory manufacturers, mobile network operators, retailers and enterprise customers across nearly 50 countries in the region.

“Benoit will lead our EMEA region through the next phase of growth as the world’s leading mobile products, services and technology organization,” Patel said. “Benoit brings a wealth of experience in technology and telecommunications, ranging from leading mature, international companies to launching start-ups in the mobile market. His entrepreneurial spirit is well-aligned with our way of doing things and his know-how is a great match for our business partners.”

Scheen served as Executive Vice President of Europe for Orange where he held P&L management of €12 billion revenues generated by 38,000 employees, serving 65 million customers across the European footprint. Scheen was also a member of the executive committee of the Orange Group, responsible for all the Orange subsidiaries across Europe, excluding France. From 2007-2011, Scheen was the CEO of Mobistar, the 2nd largest player on the Belgian telecommunication market. Additionally, Scheen also serves as Board Director for TDC, a leading telecommunication and home entertainment company in Scandinavia, and Evonet, a Belgium-based Internet Service Provider operating in the B2B market.

“I am eager to contribute to the innovation Brightstar brings to the mobile marketplace,” Scheen said. “Together with SoftBank Group Corp., it’s a powerful combination of entrepreneurial spirit and new services and technologies that grow our customers’ businesses and differentiate from competitors.”

Scheen replaces Bela Lainck, who was promoted to lead Brightstar’s Global Services organization responsible for aligning all Brightstar solutions across the entire mobile device lifecycle. Lainck will lead the global effort to unify the company’s go-to-market teams and deliver complete solution delivery for Brightstar’s OEM, operators, retailers, and enterprise customers in 100 countries across six continents.

About Brightstar
Brightstar, a SoftBank Group Corp. subsidiary, is the world’s largest specialized wireless distributor and a leading provider of diversified services focused on enhancing the performance and results of the key participants in the wireless device value chain: manufacturers, operators and retailers. In 2014, Brightstar reported global net revenues of more than $10 billion and employs about 9,000 people on six continents. For more information, please visit Brightstar.com.

Contacts
Brightstar
Deb Miller,
+1 305-921-1494
[email protected]

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article/press release are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the approved policy or position of the GSMA or its subsidiaries.

Contact the GSMA

Please get in touch if you need more information or have any queries about anything you see on our website.

Contact us