Ivo Rook of Vodafone to head Sprint’s IoT business

Sprint has named seasoned Internet of Things (IoT) executive Ivo Rook to the newly created position of senior vice president of IoT.

Rook will lead and build Sprint’s IoT business and will be a strategic advisor to Sprint and Softbank. Rook will join Sprint on January 1, 2018.

Rook spent his last seven years at Vodafone, most recently chief executive officer for Vodafone’s IoT Business, which has $1 billion in revenue, 50 million connections and 1,400 employees spanning 30 countries. He also held positions at Vodafone Global Enterprise as director of Northern Europe and director of Germany and Central Europe.

“We’re very excited to have someone of Ivo’s caliber and expertise lead our IoT organization,” said Jan Geldmacher, president, Sprint Business.

“He brings a wealth of experience to Sprint including organizational leadership, sales success and the ability to develop end-to-end product and marketing strategy that leads to sustained growth for companies,” added Geldmacher.

Rook will lead a group of world-class product specialists to develop and operationalize IoT solutions in a category that continues to grow exponentially. He will be responsible for driving B2B and B2B2C growth strategies, including funding, alliances and development of operationalized solutions. Also in his role, Rook will act as the liaison officer to the Softbank Group of companies involved in the IoT space.

Rook said, “I’m thrilled to join a company that is incredibly focused on this space, which will provide outstanding growth in the future. My focus will be on developing secure IoT solutions for our business customers and all people who want to make the best of the digital revolution.”

Rook earned a Masters in Information Management from Erasmus University in Rotterdam, The Netherlands and has leveraged his scientific background into a career in strategy and deal making as a corporate entrepreneur. He is a pragmatic executer and truly global player, having worked many years abroad and speaks four languages.