Circles today announced the strategic appointment of three key executives to its leadership team:
- Justin Choi as Chief Financial Officer (CFO)
- Bart Weijermars as Chief Customer Success Officer (CCSO)
- Luke Lu as Chief People Officer (CPO)
These appointments are pivotal as Circles accelerates its global expansion, empowering telco clients worldwide with its innovative software platform. Each leader brings experience and proven success, poised to propel Circles’ growth and market leadership.
“Expanding our reach and empowering telco clients globally is core to our mission,” says Rameez Ansar, CEO and founder of Circles. “These strategic hires bring the expertise and leadership we need to navigate diverse markets, build strategic partnerships, and foster a world-class talent pool that fuels our ambitious growth plans.”
Driving Sustainable Growth with Justin Choi:
Choi brings a successful 20+ year track record in the technology sector, holding senior management positions at Gojek and Coinbase, and as a private equity investor at firms such as CVC Capital Partners. His global technology industry experience will be invaluable to the company as it enters its next phase of growth. He will spearhead capital allocation and corporate strategy, scale financial operations, identify new growth opportunities, and drive strategic acquisitions to fuel Circles’ ambitious expansion plans.
Building Strong Customer Partnerships with Bart Weijermars:
Weijermars, who is currently leading the Circles’ MVNE business unit, will be taking on the newly created role of Chief Customer Success Officer, expanding on his current scope of work. Bringing substantial expertise in commercial expansion and transformation in both telecom and software markets as CEO at T-Mobile Netherlands, Pareteum and Artilium respectively, Weijermars will be building strong customer partnerships and supporting operations for a growing global client base.
Boosting Talent and Culture with Luke Lu:
Lu joins Circles with over two decades of experience building high-performing teams across diverse industries. He specializes in organizational effectiveness, transformation, and development, having driven exponential cultural change at Lazada and Ooredoo, and McKinsey. In addition to building a strong organizational culture for Circles, he will be instrumental in attracting, developing, and retaining top talent to fuel Circles’ global ambitions.
Circles investors Warburg Pincus and Peak XV Partners (formerly Sequoia Capital India & SEA) welcomed the new hires.
Suarabh Agarwal, Managing Director, Head of Southeast Asia Private Equity, Warburg Pincus said, “Circles is gearing up for an exciting new chapter with these strategic appointments. Beyond expanding their market share, they’re poised to become a major software player in a telecom industry hungry for innovation.”
Mohit Bhatnagar, Managing Director, Peak XV said, “We are excited to see new global leadership and the opportunities that will be unlocked as Circles enters new markets and deepens its strategic partnerships via e& and KDDI. Circles has grown from its roots as a consumer telco to a software company, and we’re looking forward to seeing this next transformative phase for them, particularly around Circles X and the New Business Build team.”
Since its inception in 2014, Circles has been at the forefront of disruption and advancement in the global telco industry. With clients in 15 countries across 6 continents, including Japan and the Middle East, this new expanded vision will see Circles continue to transform consumer experiences and power the future of telco and connectivity.
