TalkTalk - The Carphone Warehouse's retail phone business - has a new managing director after former boss Max Alexander left the firm to join Thomson Directories.

New man David Thatcher joins from cableco NTL, where he has worked for the past four years, most recently as its head of consumer sales and marketing division.

He's also spent time with Time Warner, satellite pay-TV outfit BSkyB and previously worked at The Carphone Warehouse as chief operating officer for the firm's mobile internet portal outfit, Mviva.

Anyhow, in a statement today, Thatcher says he's chuffed to bits to be back at Carphone.

TalkTalk has some 2.4 million phone punters and recently acquired the retail business of OneTel and Tele2 in the UK and Ireland. Carphone is also pressing ahead with plans to invest in local loop unbundling (LLU) to provide broadband services direct to end users.

Carphone is due to publish further details about LLU in March but has already said it intends to spend £45m over the next three years to install its kit in BT exchanges. ®