Richard Alden (born 1963) is a British entrepreneur and business executive. From 1998 to 2009, he was CEO and founding director of ONO, a telecommunications operator in Spain. In 2014, ONO was acquired by British telecommunications company Vodafone.[1] Until November of 2015, Alden served as chief executive officer of Wananchi Group, communications operator, providing DTH, cable internet and business services in East Africa. Alden is the current president of parcel delivery start-up Citibox.[2]    

Richard Alden
Born1963 (age 60–61)
NationalityBritish
Occupation(s)Entrepreneur, business executive

Career

Alden began his career as a chartered accountant at Deloitte, one of the “Big Four” accounting firms, where he became a senior manager in audit and corporate finance in 1985.[3]

ONO

In 1998, Alden became the founding director of Spanish cable and telecom firm ONO, and was its CEO from 2000 to 2009.[4] The company eventually covered 70 percent of Spain's territory and had 1.9 million customers.[4] In 2004, a merger offer from Auna was rejected .[5] Alden left ONO in 2009. The company was acquired by Vodafone in 2014 for $10 billion, and the ONO brand was completely retired in early 2019.[6][7]

Later career

In 2010, Alden was appointed non-executive chairman of Mirada, a Spanish TV production firm specialising in audiovisual content interaction.[8][9] That same year, he was also named president of European operations of SaaS-systems provider TOA Technologies.[10]

After stints at Brazil’s Blue Interactive as non-executive chairman and non-executive vice chairman of Euskaltel SA in Spain,[11] he joined Kenyan pay TV company Wananchi Group in 2013 as CEO.[12] He left the Group in November 2015.

Since 2019, Alden has been the president of Madrid-based delivery start-up Citibox, raising €11 million.

Personal life

Alden is married and divides his time between Lisbon, Madrid and Cape Town.[13] After the end of his contract with Wananchi, Alden was charged with murder, following the death of Kenyan national Grace Wangechi Kinyanjui on 4 June 2016 at his Nairobi home. He pleaded not guilty to the charges,[14] and was acquitted of all charges by the Kenyan Courts on 30 October 2017, following independent ballistics evidence that proved Kinyanjui had mishandled a gun and accidentally shot herself.[15] Alden had rushed her to hospital, where she later died.[13]

References

  1. ↑ "Vodafone's purchase of Ono fuels talk that big UK acquisition might be next". the Guardian. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  2. ↑ "Pangea and Citibox close a round of 9 and 11 Million euro respectively". Startups Real. 25 June 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  3. ↑ "Alden to take chair at Mirada". Broadband TV News. 14 December 2010. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  4. 1 2 "Vodafone's struggles raise doubts about its future competitiveness". EconoTimes. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  5. ↑ "Consortium eyes ?11bn bid for Grupo Auna". Financial Times. 16 November 2004.
  6. ↑ "Vodafone agrees $10 billion deal for Spain's Ono". Reuters. 17 March 2014. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  7. ↑ movilonia.com (17 April 2019). "Vodafone borra la marca Ono". Movilonia.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  8. ↑ "Mirada appoints new president | News | Rapid TV News". www.rapidtvnews.com. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  9. ↑ "Mirada names Richard Alden as chairman | 13 December 2010 | Stock Market Wire". www.stockmarketwire.com. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  10. ↑ "TOA Technologies appoints former ONO CEO Richard Alden as European president". Totaltelecom. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  11. ↑ "Richard Alden | Wananchi Group | Business Chief Africa". africa.businesschief.com. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  12. ↑ Editor. "Ex-ONO exec Alden to head Wananchi". advanced-television.com. Retrieved 17 February 2020. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  13. 1 2 "Kenya drops charges in Alden case". Broadband TV News. 5 December 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  14. ↑ Dubuis, Anna (10 June 2016). "British businessman Richard Alden charged with murdering woman in his Kenya mansion". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  15. ↑ "Richard Alden freed after Kenyan prosecutors drop charges". Digital TV Europe. 6 December 2017. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
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