Interim MD and Fractional CPTO/CPO/CTO for telco turnarounds, scale-ups, and PE-backed portfolios. 23+ years converting telco complexity into commercial results - from founding-team startup to £25m exit.
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Two examples from different stages of my career - demonstrating I can parachute in and deliver, or build something from scratch over time.
6 Months | Interim MD
Took over as MD of a struggling IoT connectivity platform. Platform was missing SLAs, customer relationship was fractured, and contract renewal was at risk.
9 Years | Board Director
Joined as employee #2 at a telco clearing startup. Built the engineering function, product suite, and commercial capability from a blank sheet.
Experience delivering for
30-minute conversation to understand your situation, challenges, and what success looks like.
Define engagement model, deliverables, and success metrics. No ambiguity about what you're getting.
First 2 weeks: deep-dive into the business. Stakeholder interviews, system review, quick wins identified.
Weekly stakeholder updates, clear milestones, measurable outcomes. No mystery about progress.
Platform in crisis. Customer relationship damaged. Contract at risk. Team underperforming.
Product-market fit achieved. Now need experienced leadership to scale team, process, and commercial.
Investor-backed telco software company needs operating expertise or due diligence support.
MD, CTO, CPO or CTPO on an interim or fractional basis. Hands-on leadership for turnarounds, scale-ups, or bridge periods. Full P&L capability.
IT due diligence for PE/VC investments. Technology strategy and roadmap development. AI readiness assessment. Market positioning for telecoms and connectivity businesses.
Also open to the right permanent leadership opportunity - CPTO, CPO, CTO or MD roles in the UK or Europe.
I've lived the full company lifecycle. Early in my career at United Clearing, I was part of the team through two acquisitions (United Clearing → BSG → Syniverse) - giving me first-hand experience of what acquirers look for in technology assets and how to prepare for due diligence.
At Nextgen, I joined as employee #2 and helped scale it from 3 to 200+ staff across multiple countries. Built the Mobile Roaming Financial Clearing and IoT Discount Management platforms from a blank sheet. Central to securing Tier-1 MNO clients globally.
Most recently as Managing Director of Nextgen SIMplify, I had full P&L ownership, defined the 3-year strategy, and integrated AI-driven analytics with eSIM/5G-SA support. I present quarterly to boards and work fluently with investor-style forecasting and governance.
I also spent 4 years on MoD contracts (SC Cleared), building Oracle APEX systems for defence - giving me deep understanding of government hosting, engineering standards, and orchestration requirements.
Building production PoC systems that autonomously execute business processes - call centre optimisation, billing dispute resolution, customer journey automation. Working systems, not vapourware.
Deep understanding of AI systems that provide auditable, explainable recommendations for complex commercial decisions - traffic steering, pricing optimisation, risk assessment.
Architected real-time data infrastructure (Apache Pinot, Superset) powering automated billing reconciliation and predictive analytics for 300K+ managed SIMs.
Led architecture of IoT CMP with full programmatic control - the foundation for AI/ML integration and autonomous operations.
Whether you need interim leadership for a turnaround or fractional support during a transition - I'd welcome a conversation.
Currently taking on new engagements.
I operate through Stratus Systems Ltd, a UK limited company. Professional indemnity and public liability insurance in place.