Onecom COO Aaron Brown departs, remains a shareholder

Onecom and Vodafone’s five-year deal will be worth up to £600 million in revenue

Onecom chief operating officer Aaron Brown has departed the company, CEO Ben Dowd has confirmed.

He followed former CEO Darren Ridge in departing from daily duties with the Hampshire-based dealer in July, though both remain shareholders and Ridge is also a non-executive director.

Brown declined to comment when Mobile News made contact.

He was Onecom COO from 2013 to 2018 and then COO of Onecom Group from November 2018 until July 2019. He is currently COO of door-to-door mobile phone repair company WeFix.

Speaking to Mobile News, Onecom CEO Ben Dowd confirmed Brown’s departure. The company has also recently restructured its executive team as a requirement of gaining a £100 million investment from private equity firm LDC, which is now Onecom’s largest shareholder.

Onecom and Vodafone signed a partnership earlier this year that will be worth up to £600 million in revenue within the next three to five years. Onecom will recruit 100 staff in the next six months to help achieve this, taking its total employees to 400. The firm also secured £30 million from HSBC in April to finance its growth plans, which include acquisitions.

“Darren has done a fantastic job along with Aaron,” said Dowd. “Darren wanted to take a step back from the business and bring someone in who can bring the growth agenda outlined. Now, 12 months on, we have a major backer to help us grow the business threefold in three to five years.

He added: “The business has been restructured and as part of that, we have gained fresh investment in the business. We will recruit 100 more staff over the next six months to support our ambitions.”