Alessandro Bovone - UK&I Chief Solution Architect, Nokia

Alessandro is a passionate telecommunications network chief architect with 20 years of industry experience. In actual role in Nokia he is accountable with his team to build, propose and technically close deal for EtoE solution for mobile and fix networks to Nokia customers, working across the Nokia wider portfolio and interacting with R&D and product owners. Working on 4G and 5G network solutions for eMBB, URLLC, IoT and its evolution to mMTC. Alessandro also cover IP, optics, cloud, Fibre, virtualization and digitalization.

Alessandro provides for customers the first point of discussion for the introduction of new technology based either on international standards or customer specific requirements.

Alessandro is a team player with strong team management background, bringing clarity, depth and breadth to a wide range of technology and business challenges faced in the mobile, fix and convergence network evolution. A Technology leader and strong communicator striving to provide direction and clarity in decision making in the technology governance arena.

Alessandro has been a key player and worked in game changing industry JV, merge and takeover like Siemens ICN & NEC (JV for intro 3G), EE (merge Orange UK & T-Mobile UK), MBNL (JV H3G & T-Mobile UK), BT (takeover EE), Nokia (takeover Alcatel-Lucent) and some of key programme in UK and worldwide like first intro of data in 2G, first launch of 4G in UK, Olympics 2012, neutral host for UK MNOs and Emergency Service Network to mention some of them.

Alessandro holds a Diploma in Mathematics, Electronics & Telecommunication, Master’s degree (Laurea) in Electronics & Telecommunication Engineering, Executive master’s in marketing & Sales. He is member of Italian Albo Ingegneri equivalent to a Chartered Engineer.

Phil Claridge - Founder, Mandrel Systems

Phil Claridge is a ‘virtual CTO’ for hire within Mandrel Systems covering end-to-end systems. Currently having fun and helping others with large-scale AI systems integration, country-wide large scale big-data processing, hands-on IoT technology (from sensor hardware design, through LoRa integration to back end systems), and advanced city information modelling. Supporting companies with M&A ‘exit readiness’, due-diligence and on advisory boards. Past roles include: CTO, Chief Architect, Labs Director, and Technical Evangelist for Geneva/Convergys (telco), Arieso/Viavi (geolocation), and Madge (networking). Phil’s early career was in electronics, and still finds it irresistible to swap from Powerpoint to a soldering iron and a compiler to produce proof-of-concepts when required.

Bert Esser - Northern European Applications Engineering Manager, Keysight Technologies

Neeraj Gupta - NEC Telecom MODUS

Nick Johnson - Chief Technical Officer, ip.access

Nick founded ip.access in 1999, and has been CTO ever since.  He was founding chair of the Radio and Physical Layer working group of the Small Cell Forum and the Innovation Architect in the Horizon2020/5G-PPP project SESAME.  He represents ip.access technically in its CBRS Alliance activities. Currently leading the Product And Technology group Nick is responsible for keeping ip.access at the leading edge of small cell innovation in its major markets. Nick is an inventor on 20-odd patents worldwide, has a PhD in Microwave Scanned Imaging Techniques from University College, London, and an MA in Physics from the University of Cambridge.

Simon Fletcher - CTO, Real Wireless

Simon joined Real Wireless in January 2016 as Chief Technology Officer, taking overall technical and technical strategy responsibility across the company. He has chaired various conference committees including the Cambridge Wireless Annual International Conference and is recognised as a regular speaker at industry events. He is a Small Cell SIG Champion. His long-standing association with the UK innovation eco-system through roles such as Director of mVCE and the Innovate-UK ICT-KTN brings a wealth of practical knowledge on open innovation to accelerate product and services delivery. Simon spent the past 20 years working in telecoms infrastructure systems and product development. In NEC Corporation he played a key role in the formation of Joint Ventures for development of 3G and 4G products and established a core team that developed the first-generation of technology for 4G systems culminating in a Steering Board position in the LTE SAE Trials Initiative (LSTI). In recent times he has directed projects on future cities, the application 5G and IoT in industry verticals with an event horizon towards 2030. His long participation in Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI) and then directing Real Wireless engagement in H2020 5G-NORMA, 5G-MoNArch and the 2016 NIC study on Future Comms infrastructure brings great foresight on a range of architectural evolutions underway in 5G architectures.

Caroline Gabriel - Co-founder and Research Director, Rethink Technology Research

Caroline has been engaged in technology analysis, research and consulting for 30 years and since 2002, has been focused entirely on mobile and wireless. As co-founder and research director of Rethink Technology Research, Caroline has developed a significant research base and forecast methodology, based around deep contacts with mobile and converged operators round the world. This addresses critical issues and trends in mobile and wireless infrastructure, and particularly operator deployment intentions for 4G, 5G, small cells, Cloud-RAN and other technologies. She is also a senior contributor to Analysys Mason’s Next Generation Wireless research programme. She has led research and consulting projects with a wide range of clients, including mobile infrastructure vendors, large and start-up operators, regulators, trade bodies, government agencies and financial institutions. Her advice and forecasts have helped inform strategic decisions at a wide range of vendors, operators, start-ups and finance houses. Prior to setting up Rethink, Caroline held various executive positions at VNU Business Publishing BV, then Europe’s largest producer of technology related B2B reports and publications. She was the European content and research director, and was a member of the leadership team for VNU’s online business. She holds an MA from the University of Oxford.

Neil Piercy - VP Engineering, ip.access

Neil has been developing base stations for various communications systems for over 25 years, during which time he has performed roles throughout the whole development lifecycle as well as management roles. He joined ip.access as a small cell System Architect when the company was in its infancy in 2000, and has since designed GSM, UMTS and LTE small cell RAN equipment and systems. His specialist areas include security and networking, as well as a focus on all aspects of protocol design and implementation, and on system performance and simulation. Now as Head of Research he is responsible for ip.access future products and technologies. He is an active member of the Small Cell Forum, a Champion for their work on the Virtualisation of small cells. He is currently a representative for the EU project SESAME on the 5GPPP Architecture group.

Simon Saunders - Director of Emerging Technology, Ofcom

Simon is a specialist in the technology of wireless communications, with a technical and commercial background derived from senior appointments in both industry (including Philips and Motorola) and academia (University of Surrey). He is an adjunct professor at Trinity College Dublin and was Access Technology Principal at Google. As co-founder and Director of Technology for independent wireless strategy advisory firm Real Wireless, 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. Customers included Ofcom, Cisco, European Commission, Virgin Media, TalkTalk, Inmarsat and many others. He is an author of over 150 articles, books and book chapters. He has acted as a consultant to companies including BAA, BBC, O2, Ofcom, BT, ntl, Mitsubishi and British Land and was CTO of Red-M and CEO of Cellular Design Services Ltd and has acted as an expert witness in legal proceedings in England and the US. Simon speaks and chairs a wide range of international conferences and training courses and has invented over 15 patented wireless technologies. Particular expertise includes in-building wireless systems, radiowave propagation prediction, smart antenna design and mobile system analysis. He has served on technical advisory boards of several companies, was Visiting Professor to the University of Surrey, member of the industrial advisory board at University College London, founding chairman of Small Cell Forum (formerly Femto Forum), which he chaired from 2007-12 and a member of the Ofcom Spectrum Advisory Board from 2007-14.