Simon joined Real Wireless in January 2016 as Chief Technology Officer, taking overall technical and innovation strategy responsibility across the company. He is a member of the UK5G AB, co-chair of the International WG, and member of the Climate WG. 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 his formative years 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 and the 2016 NIC study on Future Comms infrastructure brings great foresight on a range of architectural evolutions underway in 5G architectures, in particular for Open RAN and Diversification. He is a CW Small Cell SIG Champion, and in February 2022 the Small Cell Forum (SCF) appointed Simon as their Chief Strategy Officer, drawing on 25 years direct industry experience and work as an advisor to governments, regulators and big business.
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 - AVP System Engineering, Mavenir
Neil has been developing base stations for various communications systems for over 30 years, during which time he has performed roles throughout the whole development lifecycle, as well as management roles. Neil joined Mavenir as part of the ip.access acquisition in Sep 2020, having been with ip.access since it was formed as a spin-off from TTP Com back in 2000. 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 across GSM, UMTS, LTE and now NR small cell RAN equipment and systems. Now as AVP System Engineering he is responsible for the development and delivery of ip.access products, as part of the Mavenir group.
Prof. Simon Saunders is an independent advisor and researcher with deep industry and academic background in communication systems technology and a burgeoning interest in the intersection between real and artificial neural systems, communication systems and music. He is a Visiting Professor at King’s College London, telecoms advisor to DCMS and Trustee of the charity Music for All.
Simon is a specialist in the technology of wireless communications, with a technical and commercial background derived from senior appointments in both industry (including Google, Motorola and Philips), academia (University of Surrey, Trinity College Dublin) and regulation (Ofcom).
He founded the Small Cell Forum and chaired this industry association from 2007-12, growing membership to 150 companies and working with 3GPP to create the first standards for small cells. He acted as Director of Emerging & Online Technology for Ofcom, leading Ofcom’s Emerging Technology programme and creating their Online Tech team. At Google (2015-20), he worked with operators globally to enhance wireless connectivity via a range of advanced technology initiatives, combining wireless networks, artificial intelligence and network virtualisation. As co-founder and Director of Technology for independent wireless strategy advisory firm Real Wireless (2006-15), 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. In 2019 Simon organised the world’s first 5G music lesson on behalf of charity Music for All, led by famous musician Jamie Cullum.
He is an author of over 150 articles, books and book chapters, including a popular textbook on antennas and propagation. He has invented over 15 patented wireless technologies and served on technical advisory boards of several companies and universities.
Dejan is an independent senior consultant advising a range of clients across both public and private sectors. His particular focus is development of open and shared connectivity and data infrastructure to support product development and service transformation within complex innovation ecosystems.
Dejan’s most recent work has included development of Digital & Innovation propositions for the Belfast Region City Deal, shaping and delivery of engagement workshops for DCMS’ 5G Urban Connected Communities project, and expert contribution to Future Cities Catapult’s Hyperconnected project. Prior to this Dejan has led the UK Smart Cities market strategy development for NEC Europe where he established a number of key partnerships, notably with Bristol Is Open and Digital Greenwich. And previous to Smart Cities Dejan has spent over a decade in technology marketing roles covering products and services in high speed optical transmission systems, mobile and wireless networks, and data communications.
A firm believer in creating value through collaboration between public and private sectors and across technology layers, Dejan’s aspiration as a SIG Champion is to shine a spotlight on market innovation opportunities through CW’s uniquely rich network of experts and influencers.
David has spent the past 15 years helping start-up/scale-up companies in the UK build successful Customer Service, Customer Success, and Professional Services teams. He has done this mainly as a player/coach; initially working with customers himself and only building teams once he’s gained a clear understanding of what's needed to support the company's unique customer base.
In 2015, he used the knowledge gained from years of working in web analytics to found Adavow, an ad suppression platform that enables advertisers and ad networks to stop serving digital ads to consumers who have recently purchased a similar item, which increases digital budget efficiency by 10% or more.
David is a keen believer that the best way to become successful is to help others become successful and "What comes around, goes around."
Mary-Ann is the Lead data scientist at Mandrel Systems. She started her career with research into sonar (think Hunt for Red October without Sean Connery). She is now embracing application and technical domains including education (all the analysis, modelling and visualisation for BestCourse4Me), smart city, retail, voice and speech recognition, and financial and logistical optimisation.
Daniel Clarke - Stakeholder & Partnerships Manager, Connecting Cambridgeshire
Dan is the Programme Manager for the Smart Cambridge programme which was set up to explore how data, innovative technology and better connectivity can be used to transform the way people live, work and travel in the Greater Cambridge area and beyond. Local councils, technology businesses, university researchers and partner organisations are working together to find smart ways to tackle city challenges, such as transport and air quality.
Paul Copping is CTO at Fawley Waterside, a new build £1B+ smart city development in the Solent which will form an international merchant city, see www.fawleywaterside.co.uk He is also Vice President Corporate Development at Sightline Innovation Inc of Toronto, with a focus on data trusts and privacy. He is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group AI Task Force on Data Governance. Paul was previously Chief Innovation Officer at Digital Greenwich (2014-2018) while chairing an Industry Specification Group at ETSI called City Digital Profile. His earlier career includes leadership roles in telecoms (Nortel, BT) and transport (TRL).
John has carried out a unique mix of strategic and operational roles with placements in the USA and Europe and partnerships in Asia. Over recent years much of his private sector and Government activities has been in the area of mobile and wireless communications, digital media, Smart Cities, Cloud and Big Data and M2M/IoT as well as emerging and disruptive technologies. Helping technology start ups in the UK and internationally sourcing technology and partners as well as provide due diligence in areas of M&A and stock listings. Operating as a UK Government Advisor John has briefed both UK and International Government Ministers and Departments on Smart Cities and respective technologies and applications. This has included providing international workshops, mentoring and consulting at senior levels. John has designed and ran awareness and implementation workshops for international companies and led international delegations to overseas markets, the most recent to Singapore and Malaysia in partnership with InnovateUK. John is an active member of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Smart Cities. John will be engaging with potential new international companies and organisations, and supporting CW member companies.
