Barron out and Dana Strong in at Virgin Media

Liberty Global has appointed the managing director of UPC Ireland, Dana Strong, as the next chief operating officer of Virgin Media.

Strong is due to replace current Virgin Media COO Andrew Barron, who is leaving to “pursue new opportunities,” said Liberty. She will take up the post on July 1.

Mike Fries, president and CEO of Liberty Global, said: “Dana has over 20 years of experience in the media industry and has been an integral member of the Liberty Global family for 14 years. She has a proven track record of delivering profitable growth and customer service excellence to the operations she’s led in Australia and Ireland.”

Strong will be replaced at UPC Ireland by Magnus Ternsjö, who is MD of Liberty Global’s central European DTH satellite television business covering Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania. However, she will remain chairman of UPC Ireland.

The announcement follows the recent appointment of UPC Netherlands MD, Robert Dunn, as Virgin Media’s next chief finance officer; and former News International chief executive Tom Mockridge as Virgin’s new CEO, who replace Eamonn O’Hare and Neil Berkett, respectively. Both will take up their roles after Liberty completes its buyout of Virgin Media, which is due to happen by the end of this quarter.