The chief executive of the Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) unit of Digicel - the Caribbean mobile phone group controlled by Denis O'Brien - has resigned.

Stephen Brewer - who was once head of Eircom's mobile unit Eircell, now Vodafone Ireland - spent less than 10 months in charge of the mobile phone operation in one of Digicel's largest and fastest-growing markets.

Digicel's successful launch in T&T last April and the opening of a service in Haiti soon afterwards was a big factor in the rapid growth of its subscriber base since then. At the time of the T&T launch, Mr O'Brien said the company had more than two million subscribers. Digicel said yesterday that the subscriber base now stands at 2.6 million.

Mr Brewer is leaving to pursue other business interests, Digicel said. However, he will continue to work for the company as a consultant. "Stephen has made a major contribution to Digicel's phenomenal success to date in Trinidad & Tobago and we wish him every success in his future business career," said Colm Delves, overall chief executive of Digicel.

The company also said yesterday that Yvonne Burke, its consumer sales and retail director in T&T, was leaving the business. Like Mr Brewer, she will continue to work for the company as a consultant.

Digicel said that the chief executive of its Eastern Caribbean division, Kevin White, had been appointed to replace Mr Brewer as chief executive in T&T.

He previously worked for Digicel in St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada and Barbados. He had responsibility last year for the rollout and development of the business into Antigua, St Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla and Dominica.