Wayra UK Appoints New Country Manager To Lead New Strategy And Start-ups

LONDON - Jan. 30, 2020 - PRLog -- http://www.wayra.co.uk Wayra - Telefónica's open innovation hub – has just hired the entrepreneur Bruno Moraes, as its new Country Manager for the UK market. Bruno will be responsible to manage a portfolio of 193 start-ups valued over $1bn and to scale new start-ups that are coming on board in 2020, alongside a pivotal shift in the strategy for how Wayra finds the best start-ups.

The appointment of Bruno Moraes comes together with two other Telefónica's hires, to lead Wayra's hubs in Germany and Barcelona. The new acquisitions are in line with Telefónica's shift last November when the telecom giant announced the prioritisation of its key markets – Spain, United Kingdom, Germany and Brazil.

According to Miguel Arias, Telefónica's Global Entrepreneurship Director, "Bruno Moraes has a vast experience working as entrepreneur, investor and working with the telecom's industry, he has the perfect mix of what we were looking for Wayra, acting as a translator between both worlds".

Bruno Moraes has over 12 years of experience as an entrepreneur and 10 years working as a management consultant in several markets in Europe and South America, mostly in the telecom sector. His latest experience is as Co-Founder and COO for Beegol (a start-up that uses machine learning to help telecom companies improve their broadband and Wi-Fi services).

Graduated as an engineer, Bruno founded and directed for seven years Stogas, an underground gas storage business in Brazil. As a consultant, he was Associate Principal at McKinsey & Co for almost 10 years, where he focused on telecom & technology in more than 25 markets. According to him "Wayra offers an amazing opportunity for startups to do business with Telefónica and its millions of customers, experiencing accelerated growth and jumping into the next level".

In February, already under Bruno's leadership, Wayra UK welcomes new start-ups that will join its flagship programme, the London one. The London 2020 call ended last November and received over 400 applications. It was the last call as, moving forward, Wayra UK will be constantly scouting for new start-ups for the London programme. This is a shift which will align Wayra UK with the other Wayra's hubs in Europe and Latam. The focus areas for the programme will be announced soon on the website.