International Telecoms Conference - In partnership with DSIT

Dr Henrik Almeida

Head of Ericsson Research United Kingdom, Ericsson

Studied mathematics and physics at University of Stockholm in the early 80-ties. He joined Ericsson in 1990, and Ericsson Research in 1998 where he has held different research management positions over the past 24 years. In 2010 he received his technical honorary doctorate, for research achievements in broadband access technologies, performed in collaboration with Lund University. Initially driving the evolution of fixed broadband access, including VDSL2, GPON, and the foundation of G.fast (ITU-T). Later on, wireless systems and new indoor radio solutions. This included the full conceptual research work for the Ericsson indoor Radio Dot System, advanced compression technologies for new Low Layer Split 5G radio interfaces, and recently secure, intelligent, and intent based management solutions for Smart Industry applications. Presently on a long-term assignment, heading up the new Ericsson Research United Kingdom site, focusing on 6G Networks and Security research.

: https://www.ericsson.com/en
: Henrik Almeida
: @@ericsson

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Azita Arvani

CEO, Rakuten Symphony N. Americas

Azita Arvani is the CEO North America of Rakuten Symphony. Arvani works with telco operators, governments and enterprises with the vision to connect everyone and everything to fulfil their potential for a sustainable future.

Deploying the latest digital technologies including 5G, AI, IoT, cloud, and AR/VR, Arvani has created new businesses, developed products, and built partnerships for both established Fortune 500 companies as well as rapid-growth startups. Prior to Rakuten, Arvani served as Head of Innovation Partnering & Venture Management at Nokia. Arvani has also held senior leadership and advisory roles at Docomo, Xerox, and Upek (now part of Apple), among others. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Open RAN Policy Coalition on behalf of Rakuten Mobile.

Arvani holds a Master of Science in Management from Stanford University (Sloan Fellow), a Master of Science in Computer Science from the University of Southern California and a Bachelor of Science in Math/Computer Science (Magna Cum Laude) from University of California, Los Angeles. She is recognized as an avid evangelist of true digital transformation for telcos as well as other industries.

: https://symphony.rakuten.com/
: Azita Arvani, Stanford Sloan Fellow
: @@AzitaArvani

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John Baker

Senior Vice President of Ecosystem Business Development, Mavenir

John Baker is the Senior Vice President of Ecosystem Business Development at Mavenir. A veteran of the mobile industry, board member for 5G Americas, and sought-after industry speaker, John Baker leads the 5G team at Mavenir, intent on disrupting the market by transforming operator network economics. 

: https://www.mavenir.com/
: John Baker
: @@jbaker877

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Howard Benn

Vice President Communications Research, Samsung Electronics R&D Institute in the UK

Howard started his career in the fixed telecommunication sector (Plessey) back in 1982, did his degree and PhD at Bradford University, moving into radio based communications in 1989. He started working in ETSI GSM standards committees in 1993, helping create 3GPP and chairing 3GPP RAN 4 from 1998 to 2007. He has been a board member of ETSI since 2008, is currently advising the ICANN board on mobile technology, and a member of a number of advisory boards for UK universities and research programs.  
 
His current role is ‘Vice President Communications Research’ for Samsung Electronics R&D Institute in the UK, managing a team of engineers covering 6G research and ETSI, 3GPP, and GSMA standards. Recently has become a visiting Professor at Bristol University, and an honorary Professor at Queens University Belfast. He also sits on the UKTIN government advisory committee looking at the future of communications technology in the UK, and an advisor to the UK government on international free trade agreements. 

: https://research.samsung.com/sruk
: Howard Benn FITP, FIET

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Heba Bevan

Utterberry

Heba Bevan OBE is the CEO and founder of UtterBerry Ltd. UtterBerry is a patented intelligent wireless sensor system which works on extremely low power. Fitting in the palm of the hand, UtterBerry’s miniature sensors monitor multiple variables including x-y-z displacement, employing on board artificial intelligence and wirelessly relay processed data in real time. Despite their size, they work to sub-millimetre precision, measuring multiple variables; collecting and interpreting data at the source and transmitting information in real time. UtterBerry was named as one of London's Best Hardware Companies to Work For and Buy From 2021 by BestStartupUK. She is a businesswoman and electronics and computer engineer with a track record of technical innovation in the areas of wireless sensor and sensor network design. Heba is passionate about technology design and expanding STEM education and hi-tech manufacturing in Britain. Heba’s technical expertise includes artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, blockchain, optics, semiconductors, compound semiconductors and communication systems. She has in-depth knowledge and experience in embedded software markets, networking, wireless sensors and cyber security. She cultivates strong customer and partner relationships, enabling parties to maximise their contributions in their respective areas of knowledge. Heba studied electronics and computer engineering (hon), receiving a first for her final year project on robotics visualisation. Upon graduation she worked as a CPU (central processing unit) engineer for the microchip design company ARM. After being an integral designer of the ARM Cortex processors, which are found in virtually all mobile phones in the world today, she moved to a new role in ARM as a technical sales engineer, closing some of the largest deals in the smart phone and gaming markets, deals that continue to impact these markets today. Heba returned to study at the University of Cambridge (Jesus College) in the area of low power wireless sensor networks, and it was

during her PhD study in 2013 that she founded UtterBerry. Over eight years on, Heba has over 15 patents to her name, granted and pending, in a wide range of fields from manufacturing and engineering to health and sensing technology. Heba has won many awards including the Digital Innovation Award from CIOB in 2014, The Construction Excellence National Award for Innovation in 2015, and two NCE Ground Engineering awards. Heba has been awarded an OBE for her contributions to technology, innovation, and STEM education 2018. In 2021 Heba received the Women of the Year Woman of the Year award for Innovation. Heba is committed to sustainability and the application of engineering to create new sustainable technologies in the electronics industry. Heba participated in COP26 and supports the government in international engagements related to sustainability. UtterBerry makes sure to minimise all waste, whether that be recycling, reusing, or repurposing. Since 2020, Heba has developed novel multi-symptom health scanner and is heavily involved in expanding 5G connectivity in rural Wales, working with the Welsh government, DCMS and BT to ensure cutting edge technology enhancements reach farms, heritage sites such as castles, and rural transport including bus systems. In 2021, Heba established UtterBerry’s new Innovation and Manufacturing Hub in Leeds, taking the opportunity to research and invest in new, clean, green energy sources to power this new venture. The Hub is creating approximately 800 new jobs and apprenticeships in Leeds over the next five years, creating economic growth and adding new advanced manufacturing capabilities in the UK.

: https://wearetechwomen.com/portfolio/heba-bevan-obe-ceo-founder-utterberry-ltd/
: UtterBerry LTD
: @UtterBerry

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Stephen Beynon

Chief Commercial Officer, OneWeb

Stephen joined OneWeb in May 2022 as Chief Commercial Officer where he is responsible for driving strategy to achieve sustainable profits and commercial success for OneWeb and for its partners.

Prior to OneWeb, Stephen worked in the energy sector with Aggreko and Centrica. Previously, Stephen worked in telecoms for more than 20 years. During this time, he led the B2B and wholesale divisions of Virgin Media in the UK and Optus in Australia, and the B2C business of Eir in Ireland. He began his career at Mercury Communications in London. 

: https://oneweb.net/
: Stephen Beynon
: @@StephenBeynon

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Nicholas Blades

Regulatory Director, VMO2

Nick joined Virgin Media O2 on its formation, from one of its shareholders Telefonica SA. He is responsible for a multi-disciplinary regulatory and public policy team reporting to VMO2’s General Counsel. He joined O2 UK in 2004, transferring to Telefonica SA in 2013 and has undertaken a variety of regulatory and management roles within the business, always with a strong strategic focus. Prior to joining O2, Nick worked in management consulting advising firms during the wave of  telecoms liberalisation in the 1990s. He holds a physics degree from Imperial College, London.

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John Bretherick

Fujitsu

John Bretherick is Director of Business Development at Fujitsu Network Communications, where he focuses on the Fujitsu open networking portfolio, including optical and Open RAN solutions, for Europe. John has over 30 years of experience in telecom, holding roles in engineering, sales, marketing and business development for both global service providers and equipment vendors. He has a long history of developing customised solutions for global IT, system integrators and communication service providers, as well as vertical market experience in pharmaceuticals, utilities, government and health sectors.

: https://www.fujitsu.com/uk/
: John Bretherick
: @@fujitsu_uk

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Amanda Brock

CEO, OpenUK

Amanda Brock is CEO of OpenUK the UK organisation for the business of Open Technology – open source software, open hardware and open data - with a purpose of UK Leadership and International Collaboration in Open Technology and she is the Executive Producer of State of Open Con. 

She is a Board Member of the Open Source Initiative; appointed member of the Cabinet Office’s Open Standards Board; Member of the British Computer Society Inaugural Influence Board; Advisory Board Member, Sustainable Digital Infrastructure Alliance and Mimoto; and European Representative of the Open Invention Network.  

A lawyer of 25 years’ experience, she previously chaired the Open Source and IP Advisory Group of the United Nations Technology Innovation Labs, sat on the OASIS Open Projects and UK Government Energy Sector Digitalisation Task Force Advisory Boards. She was General Counsel of Canonical for 5 years from 2008 and set up their legal function. 

Amanda is a judge in the IDG Foundry CIO 100 2023 having been a Judge in the We are Tech Women Rising Star Awards 2020-22. She was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award in the Women, Influence & Power in Law Awards UK 2022, and included in Computer Weekly’s Most Influential Women in Tech Long list in 2021 and 2022 and in their UK Tech50 Influencers longlist for 2022. She was included in the 2022 https://heroes.involverolemodels.org/ Involve HERoes list of 100 global women executives driving change by example. 

She is the editor of Open Source Law, Policy and Practice (2nd edition) published by Oxford University Press in October 2022, with open access thanks to the Vietsch Foundation

: https://openuk.uk/
: Amanda Brock
: @@amandabrockUK

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Peter Claydon

President, Picocom

Peter Claydon is president of Picocom, a multi-award-winning semiconductor company that designs and markets Open RAN standard-compliant baseband SoCs and carrier-grade software products for 4G and 5G small cell infrastructure. He has been in the semiconductor industry for over 35 years, and for over 20 founded and worked for companies specialising in chips for mobile networks.

: https://picocom.com/
: Peter Claydon
: @@PeterClaydon

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Paul Coffey

Chief Technology Officer, Clarus Networks Group

Paul is an experienced  mobile telecommunications leader who delivers socio-economic benefit to a broad range of stakeholders by enabling digital connectivity. 
Paul joined The Clarus Networks Group as Chief Technology Officer in March 2023.   Clarus is a wireless connectivity specialist, providing low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite solutions and mobile private networks to businesses and places where traditional connectivity or coverage is challenged. Such as maritime, ports, onshore/offshore windfarms and construction sites.
Previously, Paul was CEO of The Scotland 5G Centre, a national centre for accelerating the deployment and adoption of 5G connectivity in Scotland’s industry and public sectors. Prior to this, Paul was Head of Strategy at a global wholesale network operator and Head of Mobile Products at Virgin Media Business.
With a proven track record of implementing successful technological strategies in previous roles, Paul has exciting plans ahead to further establish and grow Clarus in the mobile private network space and beyond. 

: https://www.clarus-networks.com/
: Paul Coffey
: @@paulcoffey5g

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Cristina Data

Ofcom

No bio provided

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Peter Davies

esecurity

No bio provided

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Bob Driver

Ex-Head of UK5G, Advisor, UKTIN

Bob was Head of UK5G from 2018-2022 which became UKTIN in 2023 and funded by DCMS. Was also CEO of Cambridge Wireless and before that Director, Technology, Innovation, and Events for UK Trade & Investment. 

: Robert Driver
: @@Bob_CWUK5G

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Jessica Ellis

Director Applied 5G, Deloitte

No bio provided

: https://www.deloitte.com/global/en.html
: Jessica Ellis
: @@jessdidoellis

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Michael Essington

Senior Manager, Public Policy, DISH

Michael Essington serves as DISH’s Senior Manager of Public Policy, overseeing all manner of public policy issues in Washington, D.C. He has been with DISH since 2019. Before joining DISH, Michael served as General Counsel to Senator Todd Young from Indiana, where he was the Senator’s lead advisor on Senate Commerce issues related to communications, technology, and consumer products, and Senate Finance issues related to tax. Before that, Michael served as Legislative Counsel to Congressman Adam Kinzinger advising him on a variety of issues from commerce and tax to foreign relations and defense matters. Michael graduated from the Chicago-Kent College of Law, and he received his undergraduate degrees from Cedarville University with a Bachelor of Arts in Accounting and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy.

: Michael Essington

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Matthew Evans

Director, Markets, techUK

Matthew Evans leads techUK’s Market Programme teams and is a member of the senior leadership team.

The Market Programme teams help techUK members apply innovative technology solutions across a range of sectors, including the Public Sector, Financial Services and Cyber. 

Prior to his appointment in early 2019, Matt led techUK’s Smart Infrastructure and IoT work, as well as being CEO of the Broadband Stakeholder Group. During this time he led the telecoms industry’s approach to lowering the cost of network deployment, played a key role in coordinating it’s response to Brexit and was closely involved in the development of the Government’s Future Telecoms Infrastructure Review. He also assisted in the development of the UK’s first secure by design Code of Practice aimed at consumer IoT, oversaw the publication of a paper outlining the tech sector’s view of future mobility services and drove engagement around the use of digital twins.

Matt sits on the Steering Board of the Electric Vehicle Energy Taskforce, Digital Framework Task Group,  andthe advisory board for the Prospering from the Energy Revolution industrial challenge fund.

Prior to joining techUK, Matt worked in Arqiva's public policy team, across the broadcast and telecoms markets. Before that he was a researcher for an MP at Westminster.

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Samantha Francis

Deputy Director, Research Base, EPSRC

Samantha is a Deputy Director within Research Base at EPSRC. She has strategic oversight for Research Infrastructure, the Digital Futures portfolio as well as EPSRC’s Monitoring our Portfolio and Priorities strategy. Samantha joined EPSRC in 2007 after completing a Master’s Degree in Physics at the University of Bristol. Samantha has held a number of positions at EPSRC including; Cross-Disciplinary Interfaces Portfolio Manager, Head of Peer Review, Head of Balancing Capability and prior to her current role, was Head of the Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Theme for three years. In her spare time she is undertaking an accounting qualification, is a Trustee of the Daphne Jackson Trust and is the Treasurer of a local pre-school nursery. 

: https://www.ukri.org/councils/epsrc/
: Samantha Francis

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Nicola Freeman

DSIT

No bio provided

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Mariel C. Garcia

Deputy Director, US Department of State

Mariel Garcia is currently the Deputy Director responsible for leading the global ICT infrastructure security campaign.  In this position, she advocates for the importance of a secure supply chains and diverse suppliers across the ICT ecosystem to include networks, cables, data centers, and satellites.  Previously, she served in the Bureau of Political Military Affairs, the Bureau of European and Eurasian Affairs, and the Bureau for International Organization Affairs.

Prior to her work for the Department of State, Mariel served in Senegal as a Peace Corps Volunteer and as a Legislative Policy Analyst with the Congressional Research Services.  Outside of her work in the Department, she is a Founder and Executive Board Member of KAMA DC and community activist.  She also volunteers engaging students and young professionals interested in opportunities in national security and foreign policy to expand diversity and inclusion in the field.  Mariel holds a B.A. in Government and International Affairs from California State University Sacramento. Connect with Mariel on LinkedIn.

: Mariel C. Garcia

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Neil Geary

Director, Technical Strategy & Architecture, Virgin Media O2

Neil Geary is Director, Technical Strategy & Architecture (Network) at Virgin Media O2. He has worked in network analysis, planning and in-house technical strategy consulting for around 20 years at telecom operators both in the UK and abroad; from dialup through DSL to Cable and now Fibre and 5G. He leads a team defining the network architecture and vision for the long term, across the domains of Radio Access, Fixed broadband, IP & Optical,  Technical site facilities and Energy Optimisation.  Neil holds an Engineering Doctorate from University College London 

: https://www.virginmediao2.co.uk/
: Neil G.

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Professor Harald Haas

Professor Harald Haas received his PhD degree from The University of Edinburgh in 2001.

He is a Distinguished Professor of Mobile Communications at the University of Strathclyde/Glasgow, Visiting Professor at the University of Edinburgh and the Director of the LiFi Research and Development Centre (LRDC). Prof Haas founded pureLiFi Ltd. which currently employs more than 40 people and  holds the position of Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). Prior to his academic career he has worked for Infineon and Siemens in Germany on 3G and 4G networks and has made contributions to both standards. 

He has co-authored more than 650 conference and journal papers with more than 50,000 citations and holds more than 45 patents.

He has been listed as highly cited researcher by Clarivate/Web of Science since 2017. Prof. Haas has been shortlisted for the European Patent Office (EPO) Inventor Award 2023 for his inventions in LiFi.  Prof. Haas has delivered two TED talks and one TEDx talk which have been watched online more than 5.5 million times. In 2016, he was the recipient of the Outstanding Achievement Award from the International Solid State Lighting Alliance. Prof Haas was awarded a Royal Society Wolfson Research Merit Award in 2017. In 2019 he received the IEEE Vehicular Society James Evans Avant Garde Award and the Enginuity The Connect Places Innovation Award in 2021.

In 2022 he was the recipient of a Humboldt Research Award for his research achievements to date. He is a Fellow of the IEEE, a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (RAEng), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) and a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET). 

: Harald Haas

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Peter Haigh

NCSC

No bio provided

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Tasmin Heath

Deputy Director Economic Security, DSIT

No bio provided

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Nick Johnson

UKTIN

Nick Johnson heads the UK Telecoms Innovation Network (UKTIN), a DSIT consortium on a mission to re-invigorate innovation in the UK telecoms sector, helping the UK academic and industrial community better to serve its customers in telecoms big and small, public and private, fixed, mobile and non-terrestrial worldwide.  Nick comes to UKTIN from twenty years as founder and CTO of ip.access, the pioneering cellular infrastructure business acquired by Mavenir in 2020. 

: https://uktin.net/
: Nick Johnson
: @@cto_nick

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Dritan Kaleshi

Director of Technology 5G, Digital Catapult

With 30 years experience as a technologist and researcher in communication networks, distributed system design and interoperability, Dritan is Director of 5G Technology at Digital Catapult and Co-Director of SONIC Labs. Dritan has established and leads the Future Networks 5G and Digital Infrastructure programs in Digital Catapult, delivering technology development and innovation in advanced ICT systems and their adoption in enterprise networks in the UK. He was a founder of the SONIC Labs and of UK Telecommunication Network (UKTIN).

An acknowledged thought leader in his field, Dritan has published over 75 papers, holds three patents and has edited two international standards on interoperability, and is often invited to speak on advanced digital infrastructure and communication systems. He has represented the UK in international standardisation bodies and served on/chaired international conferences and technical committees, and provided technical advice to industry and the UK government.

His focus is on national coordination and how to best support advanced digital infrastructure and connectivity technology uptake, growing UK capabilities in telecommunications R&D, as well as developing in Digital Catapult  technical advances on new 5G/6G network architectures, network and service orchestration, edge computing and IoT support.

Prior to Digital Catapult he was at University of Bristol, where he led a 15-strong research team, strategically combining network and distributed systems research with industrial collaboration, making a wide range of contributions and practical implementations in networking, interoperability, smart energy, cities and digital health.

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Tom Kirkham

Innovation Lead, UKRI

No bio provided

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Francesca Lamarque

Deputy Director - Telecoms Diversification Unit, Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

No bio provided

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Brian Larkin

National Telecommunications and Information Administration, US

No bio provided

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Stefan Lee

Deputy Cyber Director, Ministry of Transport and Communications, Finland

No bio provided

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Maria Lema

CEO, Weaver Labs Ltd.

Maria co-founded Weaver in 2018 having won government funding from the FRANC competition. She previously launched the UK’s first 5G testbed out of Kings College London in 2017.  

: https://www.weaverlabs.io/
: Maria Lema
: @@MariaMariuru

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Sylvia Lu

Head of Technology Strategy at u-blox and Director, Cambridge Wireless

No bio provided

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Professor Julie A. McCann

Profesor in Computer Systems, Imperial College London

Julie A. McCann is a Professor in Computer Systems with Imperial College London and is currently Vice Dean Research in the Faculty of Engineering. She has published extensively on decentralised and self-organising scalable algorithms and protocols for Wireless/RF Sensor-based systems, Internet of Things, or Cyber-physical systems. She leads the Adaptive Emergent Systems Engineering Research (AESE) research group who examine cyber-physical interaction to design better sensor-based systems. She is Deputy Director of PETRAS IoT Cybersecurity Hub, Critical Ecosystems Lead for the Alan Turing Institute, Imperial PI on the EPSRC programme grant Science for Sensor Systems Software and heads up the CHEDDAR Communications Hub.  
 
She has a number of international research collaborations including Singapore NRF funded Eco-Cities (she has a sub-lab in Singapore with I2R and HDB), and until recently directed the Intel Collaborative Research Institute (ICRI) for Sustainable Cities, as well as other projects though EU FP7/H2020 programmes. McCann is an elected Member of the Council of Computer Science Professors and Heads of Computing, and was elected to the membership committee of the UKCRC, she holds the 2018 UKRI Suffrage Science Award for Computing and Mathematics, President’s Medal for Research Excellence 2020, and is a Fellow of the BCS and Chartered Engineer. 

: https://www.imperial.ac.uk/
: Julie McCann
: @@JAMGMcC

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Gerry McQuaid

Ofcom

No bio provided

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Yoko Nakata

Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications

No bio provided

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John Naylon

Principal Solutions Architect, AWS

No bio provided

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Dominic O'Brien

Professor of Engineering Science, University of Oxford

Professor Dominic O’Brien is a Professor of Engineering Science at Oxford and leads the optical communications group. He is the Director of the UK National Hub in Quantum Computing and Simulation. This is one of the four Quantum Technology Hubs funded as part of the UK National Quantum Technologies programme. He also leads the recently funded EPSRC Hub in All-Spectrum Connectivity.

The group has a wide range of experience in free space optical communications and optical wireless, demonstrating integrated optical wireless transceivers, full room-scale systems at 300Mbit/s, integrated visible light communications systems, Tbit/s optical wireless links, retro-reflecting communications both indoors and outdoors, novel transmitters and receivers, and indoor quantum key distribution. 

: https://eng.ox.ac.uk/people/dominic-obrien/

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Charles Patterson

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

No bio provided

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Josh Privett

Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

No bio provided

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Xavi Lobao Pujolar

European Space Agency

No bio provided

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David Rogers MBE

Chief Executive Officer, Copper Horse

No bio provided

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Tom Rumbelow

Head of Open RAN Policy and R&D, DSIT

Tom is the Head of Open RAN Policy and R&D in the UK’s Telecoms Diversification Unit, where he has worked for three years. Prior to joining the public sector, he worked in various strategy and analyst roles at IBM and Liberty Global. 

: Thomas Rumbelow

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Nick Sampson

Vice Chair, ETSI Operational Co-ordination Group

Nick is currently a Vice-Chair of the ETSI Board, and Chair of the ETSI Operational Co-ordination Group. He is responsible for standardisation at Orange, and has represented Orange at both technical and governance level in national and international standards organisations and industry associations since 1996. Nick has a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering, and over 30 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry. 

: https://www.etsi.org/

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Professor Simon Saunders

DSIT

Prof. Simon Saunders is an advisor and researcher with deep industry and academic background in communication systems technology. He is Advisor to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, an Honorary Professor at the University of Bristol, Visiting Professor at King’s College London,  and Trustee of the charity Music for All. In 2021 he was elected Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Simon is a specialist in the technology of wireless communications, with a technical and commercial background derived from senior appointments in both industry (including Google, Motorola and Philips), academia (University of Surrey, Trinity College Dublin) and policy and regulation (Ofcom and UK Government).

He founded the Small Cell Forum and chaired this industry association from 2007-12, growing membership to 150 companies and working with 3GPP to create the first standards for small cells. He acted as Director of Emerging & Online Technology for Ofcom, leading Ofcom’s Emerging Technology programme and creating their Online Tech team (2020-21).  At Google (2015-20), he worked with operators globally to enhance wireless connectivity via a range of advanced technology initiatives, combining wireless networks, artificial intelligence and network virtualisation. As co-founder and Director of Technology for independent wireless strategy advisory firm Real Wireless (2006-15), he was responsible for overall technical capability and direction, providing independent wireless expertise and advice to operators, regulators, technology and law firms and wireless users. In 2019 Simon organised the world’s first 5G music lesson on behalf of charity Music for All, led by famous musician Jamie Cullum.

He is an author of over 150 articles, books and book chapters, including a popular textbook on antennas and propagation. He has invented over 15 patented wireless technologies and  served on technical advisory boards of several companies and universities. 

: Simon Saunders
: @@simon_saunders

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Dr Andy Sellars

Strategic Development Director, CSA Catapult

Andy developed the business case and strategy for the £50m Compound Semiconductor Applications Catapult, submitting it to HM Treasury in 2015. He led the Catapult start-up from 2017, representing the Catapult during roundtable discussions with the Prime Minister, and joining the Secretary of State during the GREAT Festival of Innovation in Hong Kong. Andy is regularly called as an expert witness to provide evidence to Parliamentary committees, most recently on the National Security and Investment Act, the Telecom Security Act and the Parliamentary committee on semiconductors.

Andy joined the Catapult from Innovate UK, where he delivered £15m of strategic investments in electronics, smart materials and compound semiconductors. His early career was spent leading R&D teams with Rolls Royce, Spirent PLC and Abbott Diagnostics, and he was prime consultant on film and TV lighting for James Bond and Sky News.

Andy holds an Executive MBA from Glasgow University, a research doctorate from Strathclyde University and is a Fellow of the IET.

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Dr Mike Short CBE

Chief Architect, Satellite Applications Catapult

Mike was Chief Scientific Advisor for the Department for International Trade and before that Vice President of Telefonica O2. Mike has also been Chair of the GSMA and President of IET  

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Professor Dimitra Simeonidou

Professor, University of Bristol

Dimitra Simeonidou is a Full Professor at the University of Bristol, the Co-Director of the Bristol Digital Futures Institute and the Director of Smart Internet Lab. Her research is focusing on the fields of high-performance networks, programmable networks, wireless-optical convergence, 5G/6G and smart city infrastructures. She is increasingly working with Social Sciences on topics of digital transformation for society and businesses. Dimitra has been the Technical Architect and the CTO of the smart city project Bristol Is Open. She is currently leading the Bristol City/Region 5G and Open RAN pilots. 

She is the author and co-author of over 600 publications, numerous patents and several major contributions to standards. 

She has been co-founder of two spin-out companies, the latest being the University of Bristol VC funded spin-out Zeetta Networks, delivering SDN solutions for enterprise and emergency networks. 

Dimitra is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (FREng), a Fellow of the IEEE (FIEEE), Fellow of WWRF and a Royal Society Wolfson Scholar 

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Ros Singleton

Chair of the Telecoms Supply Advisory Council, UK5G

No bio provided

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Andrew Smith

Strategic Manager, Partnerships , National Physical Laboratory (NPL)

Andy has worked at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL) for over 30 years, performing a variety of roles including research scientist (achieving a PhD), group leader, interim department head and has also been on secondment to the 5G team in DCMS.

He currently works in NPL’s Partnerships Directorate to help define and deliver major programmes, with a focus on future resilient communications and the wider digital area. He sits on several external committees and is a pivotal team member of the UK Telecoms Lab, the UK’s new telecoms cyber security lab recently announced and funded by DSIT, based in the West Midlands and operated by NPL.

NPL (www.npl.co.uk) is the UK’s National Metrology Institute, a government-owned lab that creates impact from science and engineering. NPL has strong connections across industry, government and academia in many areas, including digital & telecoms sectors.

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Susannah Storey

Director General, Digital Technologies and Telecoms at the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology

Susannah Storey is the Director General for Digital and Tech at the newly formed Department for Science, Innovation and Technology. Prior to this Susannah was the Director General for Digital and Media Policy in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Previously, Susannah was Director General at the Department for Exiting the European Union. Before joining DExEU, she held a number of director roles at BEIS, DECC and UK Government Investments and had a career in investment banking.
 

: https://www.gov.uk/government/people/susannah-storey
: Susannah Storey
: @SStoreyDCMS

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Professor Rahim Tafazolli

Director of 5GIC, 6GIC and ICS, University of Surrey

Rahim Tafazolli is Regius Professor of Electronic Engineering, Professor of Mobile and Satellite Communications, Founder and Director of 5GIC, 6GIC and ICS (Institute for Communication System) at the University of Surrey. He has over 30 years of experience in digital communications research and teaching. He has authored and co-authored more than 1000 research publications and is regularly invited to deliver keynote talks and distinguished lectures to international conferences and workshops.

: https://www.surrey.ac.uk/people/rahim-tafazolli-freng

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Anvar Tukmanov

BT

No bio provided

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Dan Warren

Director of Advanced Network Research, Samsung Research UK

Dan Warren is the Director of Advanced Network Research at Samsung Research UK. He leads a team of researchers working on cutting-edge mobile telecoms technology innovation, in the fields of Beyond 5G, 6G and the application of Artificial Intelligence. Dan applies his broad experience in the industry across technical, commercial, strategic and regulatory topics to steer Research towards relevant and commercially viable solutions. Dan is currently Chair of the Steering Board of 5G-PPP, a Board member of 6G-IA, and a member of a number of External Advisory Boards for academic research projects. 

Prior to joining Samsung, Dan held senior roles at Capita, GSMA, Vodafone and Nortel. Dan is a widely respected authority on Telecoms, having been included in Global Telecoms Business Magazine ‘Top 40 Under 40’ list for three years, and in Capacity Magazine’s ’20 Innovators to Watch’ in 2018. Dan holds a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Brunel University. 

: https://www.samsung.com/uk/
: Dan Warren

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William Webb

Chief Technology Officer, Access Partnership

No bio provided

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Rt. Hon. John Whittingdale MP

John Whittingdale MP is the former Minister of State for Media and Data in the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Before serving as the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport from May 2015 until 14 July 2016, he was the chair of the House of Commons Select Committee on Culture, Media and Sport. He is a member of the OSCE and the Conservative Party where he was elected Conservative MP for Maldon in 1992.

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Jaisha Wray

Associate Administrator - Office of International Affairs, National Telecommunications and Information Administration, US

No bio provided

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