Virgin Media O2 Appoint Kate Dohaney as CEO of UK Mobile Provider giffgaff

The parent(s) of mobile network operator giffgaff, which is controlled by Virgin Media and O2, have today announced that outgoing Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Ash Schofield, who announced he was stepping down back in July 2025 (here), is to be replaced by Kate Dohaney.

Giffgaff has come a long way since Ash first took it on in 2018 and recently expanded beyond their O2 based virtual operator (mvno) offerings to include a full fibre broadband service (here), which is currently based off nexfibre’s growing FTTP network; but this will eventually be expanded to harness Virgin Media’s existing network too.

Meanwhile, in her early career, Kate held senior leadership roles at News Corp and Dow Jones, before becoming CEO of Orb Group in March 2024, where throughout her tenure she led the modernisation of a global technology platform, securing multi-million-dollar investment and driving triple-digit growth in shareholder value. But the telecoms game is a different kettle of fish, and it will be interesting to see what direction she takes with it.

Kate Dohaney said:

“Being appointed to lead such a dynamic and bold organisation within the UK telecoms sector is a real privilege. giffgaff is known for doing things differently – something I passionately believe in – and I’m excited to get started, driving the next chapter of growth for the business.”