Rakuten Symphony welcomes telecom industry leader Enrique Blanco as strategic advisor

• Recognized telecom leader dedicates the next phase of his career to accelerating industry transformation.
• Blanco brings decades of operator experience to further accelerate the shift from network modernization to business transformation.
• New position also supports the adoption of AI-driven operations that improve customer experience and long-term growth.

Tokya, Japan – Rakuten Symphony, Inc. today announced that Enrique Blanco, the former Chief Technology and Information Officer of Telefónica and Executive Committee Member, has been named a Strategic Advisor to the company. Blanco will work closely with Rakuten Symphony's leadership team as the company expands its efforts to help operators modernise and simplify network operations and create new opportunities for growth.

Blanco joins Rakuten Symphony at a time when operators are accelerating investments in network infrastructure and intelligence amidst increasing pressure to improve returns and deliver better customer experiences. Those challenges are driving interest in software-based networks, automation and more open technology ecosystems that enable improved agility while reducing operational complexity.

With more than three decades of experience leading large-scale technology transformation, Blanco brings proven, c-level expertise on how operators can transform and evolve their networks while improving operational efficiency and unlocking long-term customer value and monetization opportunities.

"The industry has made significant progress over the past decade as we’ve advanced to 5G and beyond, but operators still face many of the same challenges around complexity, cost and speed of innovation," said Enrique Blanco, Strategic Advisor, Rakuten Symphony. "What drew me to Rakuten Symphony is its willingness to rethink architecture and how networks are built and operated. Open architectures, automation and cloud-native technologies give operators more flexibility to adapt their businesses and respond to changing customer expectations. I'm looking forward to helping shape that next stage of the industry’s evolution."

"Enrique has spent his career shaping the evolution of modern telecommunications," said Sharad Sriwastawa, President, Rakuten Symphony. "His insights and expertise will accelerate our work with like-minded service providers that want to build better networks for the future of connectivity. His experience will enable us to provide even greater support to operators as they move beyond network modernization and embrace AI-driven business transformation.”

As Strategic Advisor, Blanco will offer guidance on Rakuten Symphony's technology and strategy. His experience in leading network operations and strategy across one of the world's largest telecommunications groups will support Rakuten Symphony's continued expansion across Europe, the Americas and other global markets.