About me

I am an independent consultant specializing in telecommunications and video technology and business strategy.

Prior to moving to the United States in 2014 to join CableLabs (a consortium of global cable operators) where I led the collaborative effort to develop a network virtualization strategy for the global cable industry, I had a long and varied career as a technologist and R&D leader at British Telecom (BT) in the UK.

At BT, I initiated and led the international telecom industry NFV collaboration and was editor of the joint-carrier paper published in October 2012 signed by 13 global carriers which coined the term "Network Function Virtualization (NFV)". This document outlined the industry vision for the future of telecommunications network infrastructure and is widely regarded as the seminal document heralding software-based networking as the future direction for networks. I led the operator group which founded the ETSI NFV Industry Specification Group and I chaired the ETSI NFV Network Operator Council until November 2018.

In 2014 I co-founded Open Platform for NFV (OPNFV), the leading open source NFV integration project.

In previous roles at BT I was a member of the task force awarded the British Telecommunications Gold Medal for its contribution to achievement of 100% broadband coverage in the UK. I led the team awarded the 1998 UK National Physical Laboratory prize for BT’s pioneering work on measuring high frequency cross-talk in the live UK telephony network, the first international team to do so. I designed key components of this system.

In my spare time, I founded and managed a video display technology manufacturing company in the UK for many years. Page on this website: Media Technologies Ltd.

I hold a BSc. in Computer Systems Engineering from the University of Essex, England, and a Higher National Diploma with Distinction in Electrical & Electronic Engineering. I have been awarded 10 patents on Passive Optical Networks and NFV Security and published numerous papers over the course of my telecommunications R&D career.  I am registered in the UK as a Chartered Engineer.  

I am divide my time between my homes in Joplin-Missouri USA and Stonehave-Scotland. I enjoy volunteering and exploring other cultures.