Hyperoptic, in which private equity firm KKR took a £500 million stake in 2019, said it “is on a mission to reach 500,000 customers and two million homes passed, maintaining market-leading penetration.
Kitapci (pictured), who joined Vodafone in 2005 and has worked for the group across Europe, including as chief commercial officer in Ireland, will be chief customer officer at Hyperoptic.
He said: “The company has also taken a leadership position on important customer issues such as social tariffs and lobbying against mid-contract price rises. That genuine care for all consumers runs throughout Hyperoptic, and I’m really excited to help this business reach the next level of customer experience and commercial performance.”
Hyperoptic CEO Dana Tobak said: “We’re entering the next phase of our growth, and Lutfu brings the experience that will help ensure we achieve our commercial ambitions. He is a strong addition to our leadership team, offering strategic expertise, powerful insights, and a laser focus on the importance of our customers’ experience of our brand.”
In 2022, Hyperoptic passed 250,000 active customers. Kitapci’s “focus will be to accelerate the impressive customer growth while continuing to deliver outstanding customer experience”, said the company.
His move marks a departure from his latest role, which was as global MD for smart tech, bringing innovative customer products to market. But he has experience of gigabit broadband from the highly competitive Irish market, where Vodafone competes with a number of other FTTH companies.
