Bamboo Connect adds leaders to European client services

Bamboo Connect has appointed Marlon Flesner and János Gábor Forgó to its Client Services team, expanding its regional leadership across Europe.

Flesner, based in Madrid, will lead managed and integrated service programmes across Western Europe. Forgó, based in Budapest, will oversee Eastern Europe, joining a structure that already includes Sylvia Johnson leading Central Europe.

The appointments support Bamboo Connect's broader push to expand its European operations as it takes on more multi-market client work. The business now supports clients in more than 14 European countries from operational hubs in the UK and the Netherlands.

Bamboo Connect runs device claims programmes for insurers, banks, telecommunications providers and retailers. Its role covers the post-approval claims journey, including operations and supply chain activity related to device replacement and associated services.

Regional coverage

The new structure gives the business named senior leaders across Western, Central and Eastern Europe. The model is designed to support delivery across multiple markets at once and strengthen relationships with clients and partners across the region.

Flesner brings nearly 20 years of experience across mobile, telecommunications and insurance. He spent more than a decade at Chubb, most recently as Head of Cellphone and Gadgets, where he oversaw handset and gadget insurance strategy across Europe, the Middle East and Africa while supporting local markets on new and existing business.

Before that, he was Global Head of Procurement Mobile at Chubb, with responsibility for global and regional work spanning customer experience, procurement, operational performance and profitability. Earlier, he held senior roles at Telefónica and O2 Germany covering business development, operations, strategy, mobile devices and handset insurance.

His background also includes launching O2 Germany's handset insurance programme and holding profit-and-loss responsibility for the business. That experience is likely to be relevant as Bamboo Connect expands work spanning insurers, mobile operators and other consumer-facing organisations.

Eastern Europe

Forgó brings 15 years of experience across programme and project leadership, operations and commercial account development in insurtech, connected-platform businesses and telecommunications. Most recently, he was B2B and B2C Programmes Leader for Europe at Servify, where he led multi-market programmes across European sales channels.

He previously served as Head of Operations Management Europe at BrightBox. Earlier in his career, he held senior commercial and product roles at Samsung Electronics and Vodafone.

The appointments come as client programmes grow more complex and increasingly span several countries. That has increased the need for local market knowledge within a consistent operating model, particularly in industries where device claims, repair, replacement and insurance services often involve multiple partners.

Juney Mistiki outlined the rationale for the hires.

"As we grow across Europe, our ambition is to build long-term strategic partnerships with our clients, bringing together our technology, operational expertise and experience across the device lifecycle to help them get more from their programmes. Marlon and János bring a strong combination of programme leadership, operational delivery and commercial experience across sectors that are central to our growth. Their appointments strengthen our Client Services team at an important point in our European expansion," said Juney Mistiki, Chief Executive Officer of Bamboo Connect.

Shaun Kidd also described the operational challenge of running programmes across borders.

"Successfully delivering complex programmes across multiple markets depends on strong client relationships and the ability to bring people, technology and partners together around a consistent service model. Marlon and János understand how those elements work together. Their regional knowledge and experience will be hugely valuable as we expand our services into new European markets.

"With Marlon focused on Western Europe, Sylvia on Central Europe and János on Eastern Europe, we now have strong senior-level representation across the region. Their experience and relationships will help us strengthen existing partnerships, develop new opportunities and maintain the consistent quality, governance and accountability that define our model," said Shaun Kidd, Chief Client Services Officer of Bamboo Connect.

Bamboo Connect is building capacity to expand into six more European markets by the end of 2027. It has focused its model on refurbishment-led device lifecycles and claims programme management for corporate clients operating at scale across regulated and service-intensive sectors.

The latest hires place senior management in Madrid, Budapest and Central Europe as the business extends its client services footprint across the continent.