REACH: the telco transformation forum.

7 October 2021

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Featured speakers


  • Jan Geldmacher - Business executive and independent board director

    Jan Geldmacher

    Business executive and independent board director Read more
    Jan Geldmacher - Business executive and independent board director

    Jan Geldmacher Business executive and independent board director

    Jan Geldmacher is a German born business executive and independent board director.

    Session: State of the industry – the challenges and opportunities facing telco today

    Each generation of wireless network has brought new opportunities, innovations and business models – 5G promises to deliver even more opportunities for B2B.  It’s still about connecting people, connecting places or connecting things – but that’s connectivity is fast becoming a commodity.

    How do you thrive in a commodity environment? How do you do things differently to differentiate?
    From robotics to autonomous applications to business-critical services, 5G enables many use cases that have the potential to redefine all industries. How can telcos move into adjacencies to ensure they successfully move beyond connectivity.

    Bio: Prior to his recent position as operating partner at SoftBank Group International, Geldmacher was president of Sprint Business. His extensive background in national and international enterprise experience in the global telecommunications industry includes having served as CEO at Vodafone Global Enterprise, chief commercial officer of the Enterprise Business Unit at Vodafone in Germany, both affiliates of Vodafone Group plc. Prior to Vodafone, Geldmacher served as CEO of BT (Germany), a unit of British Telecom Group Plc. Geldmacher served as head of international networks and joint ventures at Deutsche Telekom AG in Bonn before also taking on his role as a member of the executive board of T-Systems International and was responsible for managing their global telecommunications business. Additionally, amongst other board positions he headed up the board of Infonet Germany. Geldmacher started his professional career at NCR/AT&T in Augsburg and Hannover, Germany, in various sales executive positions and was also employed at AT&T Global Information Solutions (NCR/Teradata) in San Diego, CA, USA.

    Geldmacher actually serves as the chairman of the board of administration for Deutsche Giganetz GmbH in Germany as well as an independent member of the board of directors for Cornami Inc., Campbell, CA and Skylo Technologies Inc. Palo Alto, CA. He also represents SoftBank Group on the board of directors of Boston Dynamics Inc. in Waltham, MA.

    Jan Geldmacher is married, has two adult children and lives in New York City, USA.


  • Marc Sommer - VP INT Business Development & Operator Partnerships, Facebook

    Marc Sommer

    VP INT Business Development & Operator Partnerships, Facebook Read more
    Marc Sommer - VP INT Business Development & Operator Partnerships, Facebook

    Marc Sommer VP INT Business Development & Operator Partnerships, Facebook

    Marc is Facebook's Vice President for International Business Development and Operator Partnerships.

    Session: View from the outside – insights from leaders in other industries

    As telcos strive to move beyond core business capabilities into adjacencies, what can they learn from other industries? In this session, leaders from other industries share their insights on the opportunities for Telcos arising from partnerships and adjacencies.

    In this session Marc will discuss partnerships as a way to ultimately deliver the ‘Metaverse’ and Facebook's role in enabling a digital telco experience on the way there. Realising the value today to provide tomorrow's experiences.

    Bio: Facebook's mission is to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together. His work prioritizes supporting the connectivity ecosystem bringing more people to a faster internet. With 3 billion users across it's core platforms Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp and Oculus Facebook seeks to advance connectivity globally.

    Before joining Facebook in 2016, Marc worked for various Telecom operators including Deutsche Telekom in Bonn as Senior Vice President for Partnerships, Mobile Telesystems in Moscow as Director for Product and Partnerships and Vodafone Germany in Düsseldorf.


  • Rabih Dabboussi - CRO - Rakuten

    Rabih Dabboussi

    CRO - Rakuten Read more
    Rabih Dabboussi - CRO - Rakuten

    Rabih Dabboussi CRO - Rakuten

    Rabih Dabboussi led global sales and marketing for Rakuten Mobile from the company’s international headquarters in Singapore before becoming Chief Revenue Officer for the newly established telco cloud platform business, Rakuten Symphony.

    A seasoned and highly recognized industry expert, Rabih has decades of experience in the mobile industry. His time at Cisco Systems was spent in the diverse roles of R&D, technology consulting, business development, and sales leadership. He holds multiple technology innovations and US issued patents in his name.


  • Hamish Taylor - Speaker and Consultant

    Hamish Taylor

    Speaker and Consultant Read more
    Hamish Taylor - Speaker and Consultant

    Hamish Taylor Speaker and Consultant

    Session: CEO Panel – leadership and cultural transformation

    For transformation to succeed, cultural change is not only necessary, but vital. 

    The CEO panel will look at the critical success factors of transformation. How can organisations build a growth mind-set around risk and experimentation, and how do you build a common purpose? 

    How do organisations perform while they transform?

    Bio: Hamish has an award-winning record of driving innovation and change in a number of very different environments. 

    He was trained in brand management at Procter and Gamble. After that, he became a management consultant at Price Waterhouse, Head of Brands at British Airways, CEO of Eurostar, and CEO of Sainsburys Bank – and all before he was 40! In each case, he left behind a record of significant growth/turnaround triggered by a willingness to challenge industry/organization norms and place the customer at the core of all activities.

    He has also been dubbed the “master thief” by the Inspired Leaders Network due to his record of “stealing” ideas from one environment to use in another (including Yacht designers for aircraft interiors, Disney to help with airport queuing, and rugby referees for new approaches to risk/compliance). 

    Hamish launched his speaking and consultancy career. And since then, over 250 organizations in more than 45 different countries have sought his advice and inspiration. 


  • Keri Gilder - Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Colt

    Keri Gilder

    Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Colt Read more
    Keri Gilder - Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Colt

    Keri Gilder Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Colt

    Session: CEO Panel – leadership and cultural transformation

    For transformation to succeed, cultural change is not only necessary, but vital.

    The CEO panel will look at the critical success factors of transformation. How can organisations build a growth mind-set around risk and experimentation, and how do you build a common purpose?

    How do organisations perform while they transform?

    Bio: Appointed to the role in May 2020, Keri is responsible for executing Colt’s strategy which centres around transforming the way the world works through the power of connectivity.

    Before becoming CEO, Keri was Colt’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), leading global teams across sales, presales and marketing, as well as working closely with the wider organisation to ensure Colt delivered for its customers.

    Before joining Colt, Keri held several leadership roles at Ciena but was most recently its Vice President and General Manager EMEA, responsible for guiding Ciena’s EMEA service provider and enterprise customers, as well as partners.

    Keri is passionate about promoting Inclusion and Diversity, also leading Colt’s Diversity Council, to ensure Colt is a business where everyone feels they can bring their true selves to work. Keri brings this passion to the wider industry, also supporting external mentoring and coaching initiatives.

    Prior to Ciena, Keri worked in multiple roles for Lucent Technologies, and she has also worked for Hughes Aircraft as a Network Engineer.

    Keri has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Management Information Systems (MIS) from New Mexico State University.

    Keri lives in London with her husband and two children and is based at Colt’s head office in London.


  • Dr. Boris Maurer - Europe Communication and Media Industry Lead for Accenture

    Dr. Boris Maurer

    Europe Communication and Media Industry Lead for Accenture Read more
    Dr. Boris Maurer - Europe Communication and Media Industry Lead for Accenture

    Dr. Boris Maurer Europe Communication and Media Industry Lead for Accenture

    Session: Industry Panel – the challenges and opportunities facing telco today

    The Industry panel will reflect on the future of telco in a transformed world.  Why must the industry reach beyond connectivity and how do organisations do it?

    5G is a catalyst for new services and business models, but how do you organise to develop these capabilities and capitalise on their potential?

    Bio: Seasoned industry and innovation thought leader and telco industry veteran. Europe Communication and Media Industry Lead for Accenture. Prior this role, Boris led Digital Transformation globally for Comms, Media and Technology at Accenture.Track record of 25 years of Top Management Consulting predominantly in Telecommunications, Software, High-Tech, Media as well as in the Public Sector.

    Prior to Accenture, Boris was a Partner at McKinsey for 14 years up until 2010.  After his time at McKinsey, he became a serial entrepreneur with focus in the IoT/AI space.


  • Enrique Moreno - Head of Telco & Media NTT DATA DACH

    Enrique Moreno

    Head of Telco & Media NTT DATA DACH Read more
    Enrique Moreno - Head of Telco & Media NTT DATA DACH

    Enrique Moreno Head of Telco & Media NTT DATA DACH

    Session: Industry Panel – the challenges and opportunities facing telco today

    The Industry panel will reflect on the future of telco in a transformed world.  Why must the industry reach beyond connectivity and how do organisations do it?

    5G is a catalyst for new services and business models, but how do you organise to develop these capabilities and capitalise on their potential?

    Bio: Enrique has spent his whole career at everis / NTT Data gaining more than 20 years’ experience in strategic consultancy, business process and IT projects in the Telco & Media industry. Enrique has worked in Germany, Austria, Brazil and Spain. He is currently in charge of the Telco and Media Business for NTT Data in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

    His Telco experience in IT Strategy and Business Process are based on leading the execution of transformation programs in multiple areas (network operations, system developments, e-commerce, customer care, digital channels).

    Enrique studied Mathematics at the University Complutense of Madrid, and speaks German, English, Portuguese and Spanish.


  • Steve McMillan - President and Chief Executive Officer of Teradata

    Steve McMillan

    President and Chief Executive Officer of Teradata Read more
    Steve McMillan - President and Chief Executive Officer of Teradata

    Steve McMillan President and Chief Executive Officer of Teradata

    Session: CEO Panel – leadership and cultural transformation

    For transformation to succeed, cultural change is not only necessary, but vital.

    The CEO panel will look at the critical success factors of transformation. How can organisations build a growth mind-set around risk and experimentation, and how do you build a common purpose?

    How do organisations perform while they transform?

    Bio: Steve McMillan is President and Chief Executive Officer of Teradata and joined our board in June 2020. With more than two decades of technology experience, Steve is a seasoned executive with a track record of transforming enterprise services and product businesses into industry-leading cloud portfolio offerings. To each new position, he brings a relentless focus on driving value for customers and delivering customer satisfaction.

    Prior to joining Teradata, Steve served as the Executive Vice President of Global Services for F5 Networks. There, Steve was responsible for more than half of worldwide operations and achieved significant top-line growth and industry-leading customer satisfaction. Prior to F5, Steve was with Oracle where he served as the Senior Vice President of Customer Success and Managed Cloud Services. Previously, during an extended career at IBM, Steve held increasingly senior leadership positions, driving operations and execution with a consistent record of exceeding revenue and profit targets, business transformation, and collaborative leadership.

    Steve is a published author on technology and management papers, and developed a patent around Cloud Computing. Steve earned a 1st class degree in Management and Computer Science from Aston University in Birmingham, England.


  • Alex Kory - Sr. Marketing Manager EMEA at Teradata

    Alex Kory (Moderator)

    Sr. Marketing Manager EMEA at Teradata Read more
    Alex Kory - Sr. Marketing Manager EMEA at Teradata

    Alex Kory (Moderator) Sr. Marketing Manager EMEA at Teradata

    Alex Kory is Sr. Marketing Manager EMEA at Teradata. With more than 15 years experience in marketing communications for leading companies in the technology industry, her expertise is extensive and her creativity endless. At Teradata, she leads the EMEA Demand Generation program and is not only well-versed in the tech world, but also understands the desires and requirements of business leaders for emerging technologies such as data analytics, AI and machine learning. So she is the perfect host to guide you through the event.


  • Martin Willcox (Moderator) - VP Technology EMEA at Teradata

    Martin Willcox (Moderator)

    VP Technology EMEA at Teradata Read more
    Martin Willcox (Moderator) - VP Technology EMEA at Teradata

    Martin Willcox (Moderator) VP Technology EMEA at Teradata

    VP Technology (EMEA), Teradata. Martin leads Teradata’s EMEA technology pre-sales function and organisation and is jointly responsible for driving sales and consumption of Teradata solutions and services throughout EMEA. Prior to his current appointment, Martin ran Teradata’s Global Data Foundation practice and led efforts to modernise Teradata’s delivery methodology and associated tool-sets.


  • Inma Martinez - Digital Transformation Advisor

    Inma Martinez

    Digital Transformation Advisor Read more
    Inma Martinez - Digital Transformation Advisor

    Inma Martinez Digital Transformation Advisor

    BIO: Inma Martinez is an advisor to leaders in business and government on how to turn digital transformation into competitive advantage and contribute to societal progress. Progressing her previous careers in investment banking and telecommunications towards technology entrepreneurship, she is recognised worldwide as one of the leading entrepreneurs who pioneered the creating and emergence of digital technologies like the mobile internet, music and video streaming, the connected car and smart living. Her unique experience has allowed her to become one of the most sought-after experts in forecasting digital disruptions and revealing the potentiality of A.I. and other transformative technologies.

    Since 2001 Inma has provided expert testimonies across various technology boards at the European Union. She has combined her career in innovation with prestigious government appointments in the United Kingdom (at the Trade & Investment agency and at the Innovation Fund of the Department of Sport, Media and Culture) and Spain (State Secretariat for Artificial Intelligence at the Ministry of Economy and Digital Transformation). She has also advised the Malaysian government’s Sarawak Centre of Performance Excellence on digital transformation strategies for both civil society and government-owned businesses. In March 2021 she was appointed to the GPAI’s Innovation and Commercialisation of A.I. Task Group.

    For over ten years she has committed her time to education at various business schools (Imperial College London, University College London, and the University of Loyola Spain) and to the mentorship of innovation at venture-focused acceleration programmes.

    She has written two books: “The Future of the Automotive Industry” (June 2021) and “The Fifth Industrial Revolution: How Space Commercialisation will derive the Biggest Industrial Expansion of the 21st Century”. Both books focus on digital transformation and radical business models that are paving the way to a new concept of progress, competitive attributes and stakeholders’ values.

    FORTUNE and TIME have described her as one of Europe’s top talents in social engagement through technology and FastCompany labelled her a “firestarter”. She was voted the “Best contributor to the formation of strategy” in the section “Driving the Future of Europe’s Digital Economy” at Bloomberg BusinessWeek’s European Leadership Forum: Charting the Economic Future of Europe, a conference for CEOs and government officials.

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