Spaniard Sergi Herrero, new director of operations at Veon Ventures

Herrero will lead the new Ventures division and define the company's growth plans beyond traditional connectivity, focusing on adjacent digital products.

The Dutch provider of Internet connectivity and services, Veon, has appointed Sergi Herrero as chief operating officer (COO) of Veon Ventures. Following her incorporation next September, she will be part of the Executive Committee of the Veon group and will report to the president and general director, Ursula Burns.

Currently, Herrero is the global head of payments and commercial partnerships for Facebook, where he has overseen the launch and growth of the payment and commerce capabilities of Messenger, WhatsApp and Instagram. He has also led the rollout of charitable giving, scaling and optimization of Facebook's advertising business and has driven the platform's global market expansion. Before joining Facebook in 2014, he held various senior positions in technology, banking and consulting.

At Veon, Sergi will lead the new Ventures division and define the company's growth plans beyond traditional connectivity, focusing on adjacent digital products.

Ursula Burns has assured that "Sergi brings great experience and success to the world's largest social network and his appointment is a sign of Veon's intention with new sources of income through our operational footprint."

For his part, Sergi Herrero highlighted that "Veon operates in some of the most dynamic countries in the world, with a relatively low number of smartphones and a young and growing population that increasingly demands digital services. This is clearly a commercial opportunity that Veon is well placed to capture."

Of Spanish nationality, in 2012 he obtained a master's degree in Telecommunications Management from the Ramon Llull University of Spain, as well as a bachelor's degree in Electronic Engineering.