Virgin Media O2’s director of brand and marketing Simon Groves has left the business, close to 25 years after originally joining O2. A replacement has so far not been appointed.

Groves first joined O2 in 2000 as a corporate strategy and development manager, rising up to become director of brand, marketing and customer experience strategy by the time he left the company to become Tesco Mobile’s CMO in 2012.

Returning to O2 six years later, Groves took on the commercial marketing director, consumer and SMB role before being made director of brand and marcomms in 2019.

Subscribe to Marketing Beat for free

Sign up here to get the latest agency-related news sent straight to your inbox each morning

In a statement given to Campaign, a Virgin Media O2 spokesperson said: “Simon has taken the decision to leave the business and has stepped down from his role as director of brand and marketing.

“We thank him for his incredible dedication and contribution over the last 23 years at O2, and more recently Virgin Media O2, and wish him all the best for the future.

“Under his leadership, Simon successfully built a talented brand and marketing team who have delivered some of the company’s biggest and most iconic marketing ventures.

“From putting The O2 into Fortnite to the launch of Virgin Media O2’s combined offering Volt, bringing to life customer-first offerings like inclusive roaming and Priority as well as leading the re-negotiation of key media relationships and driving the continued growth of both the O2 and Virgin Media brands.”

Groves wen on to play a pivotal role upon the merger of Virgin Media and O2, helping lead the new outfit’s brand and marketing output as it sought to create its own distinct identity. Groves has yet to reveal his next career move.