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The promotion will see Oxby take responsibility for 3's launch campaign, now expected early in the new year after a series of delays.

Oxby, whose job title is yet to be confirmed, will continue to report to director of marketing and strategy Lisa Gernon, who sits on the board to reflect and represent consumer interests.

It is understood that Gernon's role has evolved to an operating function and that the company needed a marketer to take on day-to-day responsibilities.

Oxby joined last year and was previously director of marketing at Cable &Wireless' global division. Prior to that he was a consumer marketing manager at Orange when it was owned by Hutchison Telecom.

The first 1000 NEC third-generation '3' handsets have been trialled in the UK and Italy. But the company has admitted that a combination of technical glitches and a slower than expected rollout of handsets means it will be unable to market the phones to consumers in time for Christmas.

The advertising account for 3 is held by TBWA/London, with media buying and planning handled by MindShare and media strategy by Naked.

It has struck a number of exclusive deals to carry content with third parties, including the FA Premiership and consumer publisher Emap.