Overland Park, Kan. –Sprint created a new Hispanic business unit and named an executive with a Brazilian carrier as SVP for the Hispanic market.
Roger Sole, previously CMO of TIM Brasil, has also been named SVP of innovation to create products and services that the company said will enable Sprint to differentiate itself.
Solé, who reports to CEO Marcelo Claure, will lead all functions in Sprint’s new Hispanic business unit, which will target “one of the fastest growing segments of the U.S. population and an area where the company can gain leadership,” the company said.
The Hispanic population numbers more than 54 million, representing the second largest racial or ethnic group in the country, Sprint said. Research by the Pew Research Center shows usage of smartphones, mobile Internet and social networking sites among Hispanics is as high as it is for the overall U.S. population, the company added. The U.S. Hispanic market is estimated to have $1.2 trillion in buying power, the carrier said.
As innovation SVP, Sole will oversee Pinsight Media, a Sprint division that specializes in mobile advertising, and the Sprint Accelerator, a program for health care startups. Kevin McGinnis, VP of Pinsight Media and executive sponsor of the Sprint Accelerator, will report directly to Solé.
As TIM Brasil’s CMO, the carrier became Brazil’s fastest growing mobile operator by introducing new services, new apps and new ways for customers to get new smartphones, Sprint said. TIM became the top seller of smartphones in Brazil with 40 percent market share and almost 71 million customers. Before that, Sole led innovation efforts for six years at Vivo (Telefonica Brasil), the largest operator in Brazil.
