The CW Board

Olu is the CEO and Founder of Synergy Solutions, a specialist management consultancy practice, focussed on helping companies stay at the forefront of evolving technology and the ever-changing world of customer expectations, whilst remaining resilient and futureproofing their business.

As a senior leader and seasoned professional with over 20 years’ experience, leading businesses through change, transformation and migration into digital environments, Olu has assisted a range of companies from start-ups, through to high growth scale ups to FTSE listed companies both in the UK and Internationally to embrace digital technology, safely, whilst remaining resilient and responsive to the rapidly changing environment. Olu has deep international experience, assisting enterprises to turnaround their failing operations through to putting in place infrastructures to support growth initiatives and introduce digital innovation. She has extensive business experience having had the opportunity, through both her own business and other executive level positions to shape the strategy for a wide array of businesses and introduce digital technology, providing a range of companies with the opportunity to speed up response and enhance the quality of that response, which she believes to be vital in the delivery of an agile business.

Olu is highly committed to assisting organisations to become resilient and future proofed. In addition to running a business, Olu is a mother to two wonderful children and is passionate about growing the impact of digital technology in underserved communities.

Julie has worked in the wireless industry for over 15 years. At Real Wireless, she is a thought leader in 5G business case analysis including understanding 5G use cases, quantifying (in financial terms) the operational and socio-economic benefits of 5G services and understanding network dimensioning and cost implications under 5G virtualised networks.

She has most recently been working with city councils around their wireless strategy and related Green Book outline business case development. She also led Real Wireless’ techno-economic analysis on the EC Horizon 2020 5G-MoNArch project. Inspired by the project’s smart sea port testbed constructed by HPA, Nokia and DT in the Port of Hamburg, this analysis included quantifying the operational benefits of 5G to port authorities and other port users and the cost implications of delivering these industrial grade wireless services from existing mobile infrastructure via network slicing supported via the virtualised 5G-MoNArch network architecture.

Previously, Julie was Communications Engineer at QinetiQ UK, consultant at PA Consulting UK, and Senior Systems Engineer for Airvana UK. In addition to working at Real Wireless, Julie is a CW board member and champion for the CW Virtual Networks Special Interest Group (SIG).

An international business executive with over 30 years experience of leading growth businesses in wireless, internet and cloud sectors.  Chris has spent 15 years in the Wi-Fi Service Provider business: CEO BT Openzone Wi-Fi; Chair of the Wireless Broadband Alliance (Board Director for 10 years); MD and Board Director, GlobalReach Technology (Wi-Fi roaming and authentication specialists). 

Chris is now a strategic consultant to wireless vendors and operators offering advice and delivering projects to enhance Go To Market results.  Chris is NED Chairman of Handshakr SAAS platform company, bringing together large corporates and smaller innovators to collaborate.

Chris’s career includes: Sales and Marketing Director Business mobile, Telfort (Dutch Mobile Operator); CEO BT Openzone Wi-Fi; VP Advise for Communications providing advisory and wholesale services to Telcos in Middle East, Africa, Asia, LatAm; VP Europe Channels BT Internet Hosting and NED at Inet Spa, Italian Internet Hosting market leader. Chris held leadership roles in BT Global, launching services to Enterprise and Wholesale customers.  Previously, Chris had Marketing and Product management positions at Ericsson, Ascom and CASE Communications.

Chris has a passion for innovation and growth and has supported start-ups and scale-ups as a mentor in accelerator programmes focused on Smart Cities, Blockchain and Authentication. Chris has a deep interest in Industrial IoT and Smart Cities.

Public sector experience includes a 12 month secondment to the Department of Trade & Industry, managing the UK Broadband Britain delivery programme and representing on BT’s East of England Regional Board.

Dan is Head of Innovation and Technology for the Greater Cambridge Partnership and works with new and emerging tech to help address the challenges facing Cambridge such as traffic flow, the public transport system, and air quality. Dan’s work has included the deployment of sensor networks, data platforms and travel planning apps and trialling the UK’s first purpose-built automated bus as part of the public transport system. He has also worked with the University of Cambridge on a digital twin of the city.

Dan has supported Cambridge being used as testbed for new technologies. He works across local and central government, business and academia to ensure that the city is using new technologies to support its ambitions. Dan is currently on the UKTIN Transport working group, on the advisory board for DaRe (a university led project to support net zero transport) and he is a SIG champion for the Smart and Intelligent cities SIG.

Previously Dan worked for Connecting Cambridgeshire on the deployment of connectivity across the county. He led projects including the adoption of a LoRa network, assisted MNO’s in establishing mobile connectivity (including deploying 5G small cells) and explored the use of neutral host and private networks across the county.

Paul is a telecoms technologist. He is a member of the Cambridge Wireless Board and became CEO in November 2022. He was Director of Network Research at BT, a member of the Telco Infra Project board and Wireless Broadband Alliance board. His career includes work in Europe and the USA, building and launching telecommunication joint-ventures.

Paul is a visiting professor at the University of Surrey, Institute for Communications Systems. He is passionate about the benefits of telecommunications, a common theme in his current work is to help drive telecommunications skills and capabilities in the UK.

I am Commercial Director/EVP for Cambridge Consultant’s Wireless and Digital Services Division. In this role, I oversee the sales, marketing and advisory services for CC’s largest business unit. I work with my team and their client accounts across many sectors to help our clients achieve business impact by identifying, developing and deploying world-changing innovation in connectivity, digital services, AI and semiconductor technology. I am a regular public speaker and event chairperson.

Prior to CC I have had a string of commercial leadership roles in high-growth technology and consulting businesses working in fields including telecoms, energy, consumer goods and logistics.

I have a first class Electronic Engineering degree from Bath University, UK and an MBA from Cambridge University.

Michaela has an impressive track record as a Founder and Director, both in the not-for-profit and for-profit space.

As co-founder of Form the Future CIC, Michaela drove strategic direction and operations for this multi-award-winning organisation which connects young people with career opportunities. As Managing Director of Founders4Schools, Michaela led the operational, financial and cultural transformation of this ed-tech charity.

Michaela is known for her passion and dedication in successfully driving companies through growth and challenges.

She was winner of the Cambridge News ‘Cambridge’s Most Influential Businesspeople Award’ in 2017 and was included in the EU-Startups’ Top 100: Europe’s Most Influential Women in the Startup and Venture Capital Space in 2023.

Michaela says, "As CEO of Cambridge Wireless, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead this exceptional organisation through a period of dynamic change in the tech landscape. Together with our dedicated members, we will harness the power of innovation to not only adapt to the evolving industry but to also drive it forward, ensuring Cambridge Wireless remains the cornerstone of technological advancement and value creation."

Collette is head of Marketing at Sanome, having previously been at Redgate Software where she led the company's global product marketing efforts in the security, data protection and privacy sector.

Her previous experience includes working as a VP of marketing in a scale-up organisation to help them in understanding their identity and to develop their long-term strategy.

Her experience also includes strategic roles in consultancies supporting both global organisations and start-ups. She was named as one of the Top 100 Product Marketing Influencers globally in 2020.

Additionally Collette is a career coach supporting EnterpriseWomen, EnterpriseTech and MBA at Judge Business School. She is also an ambassador at the Product Marketing Alliance acting as a mentor and organisational coach.

Sylvia Lu is an award-winning Chartered Engineer and Non-Executive Director. Sylvia has over 15 years of experience in the Telecom industry for four mobile generations with chipset vendors, previously with u-blox at the Corporate Strategy group – a Swiss vendor of positioning and wireless communication chipset, modules, and services.

Sylvia serves on several national and global industry Boards: she is an elected board director of CW (Cambridge Wireless), and serves on the Advisory Board of UKTIN, which provides independent advice on the telecoms sector, champions the opportunities in telecoms research, development, and innovation for the UK, and helps UKTIN provide impartial input to government. She also serves on the Board of 5G-ACIA (5G Alliance for Connected Industries and Automation), and joins forces with global industry stakeholders to influence 5G development and deployment in line with industrial imperatives to accelerate Industry 4.0.

She holds a first-class Electronic Engineering degree from Birmingham University and a Master of Science degree in Communications and Signal Processing from the University of Bristol. She graduated with a Distinction from the University of Oxford in PGDip Strategy & Innovation, and an Executive MBA degree from the University of Cambridge. Sylvia is also an artist.

Simon Rockman is a well-known member of the mobile community. He founded What Mobile magazine in 1992 which in 2000 led to a senior Director role at Motorola, based in Chicago and at TTP.COM in Cambridge.

He then became head of requirements for Sony Ericsson, and head of the Mobile Money Exchange at the GSMA.

His work as a journalist owning a number of computing titles, working for Personal Computer World, The Register, and publishing both Cambridge Wireless Journal and UK5GT Innovation Briefing has given him unrivalled access to pioneering people and projects. He is currently involved in Westminster Mobile, a small cell deployment which covers the houses of Parliament and Zero Host, the world’s first tidal powered data centre.

As Chief-of-Staff at Telet Research he helps deliver 5G coverage to previously unconnected areas, with particular expertise in spectrum licensing. Telet is the UK’s fifth mobile operator, with deployments that include Europe’s largest private 5G SA network.