Steur takes charge of 20:20 International

20:20 Mobile commercial director George Steur has been appointed to spearhead the 20:20's new international business.

Steur takes the role of managing director of 20:20 International, a new business unit in the wider group restructure that is being set up to support the European plans of BlackBerry manufacturer Research in Motion (RIM) and 20:20's burgeoning overseas entities.

Steur will lead 20:20's relationship with RIM, for which it is currently its sole European distribution partner. He will also drive the 20:20's accessories distribution across Europe.

20:20 said the new international division's job will be to develop distribution for RIM and accessory products in 20:20's existing markets, which include France, Spain and Dubai.

It will also be "incubating" RIM and general accessories business in new territories, it said, such as Holland, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Turkey, Qater and Russia.

20:20 said Steur's appointment is the final part of the Group’s restructure, which began earlier this month in a bid to rationalise 20:20's UK business’ structure, while providing a strengthened role for the international operations.

Steur said: "I am thrilled to be leading the creation of 20:20 International at an exciting phase of the company's development, especially with the backdrop of huge changes taking place in the market and the huge opportunities that BlackBerry products present in Europe.

"Expanding our successful international operations is a key challenge for us and 20:20 International will be a cornerstone of the Group’s strategy going forward as we seek to translate 20:20's offer across new territories."

20:20 Mobile Group chief executive Meinie Oldersma said: "George has a wealth of opportunity with a real appreciation of the challenges of dealing with both mature European markets and the approach needed to maximise business in emerging markets.

"We have a successful portfolio of international businesses already, but the scale of our operations and our expertise in the mature UK market gives us a strong proposition that we will seek to roll-out still further."

Steur has been with 20:20 as commercial director since September 2007. He previously worked for Carphone Warehouse in a number of senior positions, including Group Commercial Director, overseeing purchasing.