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 20 years.  She has held a member elected place on the Cambridge Wireless (CW) board since 2022, is a champion for the newly formed Mobile Networks Special Interest Group (SIG) and was formerly a champion for the Virtual Networks SIG as well as the conference chair for CWIC 2021 and 2022.

At Real Wireless, she is a thought leader in business case analysis for wireless infrastructure including understanding emerging use cases, quantifying the operational, socio-economic and environmental benefits of enhanced wireless services and understanding network dimensioning and cost implications under different architecture options (including network virtualisation and slicing, public vs private mobile and shared vs dedicated infrastructure).

Julie currently leads Real Wireless’ involvement in the European Sustainability Lighthouse project, SUSTAIN-6G. Working alongside tier 1 European vendors and operators, this includes leading the development and application of frameworks for evaluating sustainability in 6G covering the dimensions of economic, societal and environmental sustainability with each of these considered from the perspectives of both direct infrastructure and device impact and indirect implications from usage of wireless (particularly in the smart energy, healthcare and agriculture sectors).

Julie has also worked with clients to understand the impact of investment in wireless infrastructure to their region or business, including local authorities (such as Belfast City Council), neutral hosts and transport hubs.

Prior to joining Real Wireless, Julie was Communications Engineer at QinetiQ UK, consultant at PA Consulting UK, and Senior Systems Engineer for Airvana UK.

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.

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."

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.