I have the ability to connect innovative technology with business opportunities. This is a true business development role, not simply requirements capture or a translation role, but an active win-win facilitation process. Direct involvement with the marketing / sales community enables me to understand their customer base and the issues facing their customers. I will then suggest business propositions that target gaps in their current and potential markets, and make optimal use of available and emerging technologies. Similarly, I can identify where emerging technologies can find commercial application. I discovered that this was a rare skill when I ran a team of people focused on this role, and it became obvious that most people were very uncomfortable and initially ineffective in this role.

I have a very broad base of technical skills in telecommunications and IT, with an international reputation in the field of mobile telematics, and Intelligent Vehicle and Highway Systems. These services rely heavily upon wireless and mobile technology, with distributed computing systems.

I worked for BT for nearly 30 years, where I have performed a wide variety of roles, including:

1977 to 1979: responsible for specification, contract adjudication and acceptance testing of the tracking & steering aspects of the Madley 1 & 2 satellite earth stations (32m dish).

In 1990 I was appointed head of mobile data at BT Labs. I was able to grow this role significantly, and contributed Transport Telematics papers to many conferences and publications.

• I managed BT’s involvement in the ETSI RES6 (TETRA) activity (offering Trunked PMR and packet data capabilities). I had to produce a convincing business case for BT’s continued involvement in this activity, which was seen by many as no relevant to BT. This activity was subsequently turned into a £1.5B commercial business for BT to provide the Public Safety Radio Communications Project for the UK Police forces.

• I was the Project Manager of the DRIVE project CIDER from 1990 to 1991 (on behalf of the EU DGXIII). I also led BT’s work in SOCRATES. These projects were already running and I re-focusing these projects on delivering tangible benefits, pushing the need to develop open interfaces.
• In 1991 he was invited to join the organising committee for a workshop on Systems Architecture at University of Michigan, USA. From 1991 to 1995 I served on the organising committee of the ISATA.
• 1991: Invited to join the organising committee of a conference on Systems Architecture for Intelligent Transport Systems, at the University of Wisconsin, as part of the launch process of the American IVHS (Intelligent Vehicle Highway Systems). Awarded a $2,000 bursary for my paper on future-proof architectures.
• 1992 accepted an invitation to join the editorial board of the international journal Transportation Research, part C Emerging technologies, published by Pergamon
• Within DRIVE II I led BT’s involvement in PROMISE, PLEIADES, SOCRATES Kernel, LLAMD, and Quartet. In 1992 I was contracted to act as Rapporteur and Chairman of DRIVE II Topic Group 7, Communication Protocols.