At Best Startup UK we track over 130,000 UK startups and over 500,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United Kingdom based Principal operating in the Telecommunications space. If you think a Principal is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on editor@beststartup.co.uk.
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Companies House UK, Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Andy Sutton
Principal Network Architect of BT Global Services
Andy Sutton is a Principal Network Architect within BT Architecture and Technology. He is responsible for end to end 5G network architecture with a particular focus on RAN and backhaul/x-haul strategy and architecture. He has over 30 years of experience within the telecommunications industry, mainly in radio access, transmission and transport network strategy, architecture and design. Andy Sutton’s research interests include; distributed and centralised RAN architectures and protocols, RAN dimensioning, QoS and mobile backhaul (optical transmission, microwave and millimetre wave radio systems, network architecture and protocols along with synchronisation and time distribution in telecommunications networks). During his career Andy has worked for Mercury Communications Ltd, Orange, H3G, EE and now BT. Andy is a Visiting Professor at the University of Salford and a research mentor at the 5G Innovation Centre at the University of Surrey. He sits on the industry advisory boards of the EU FP8 H2020 iCirrus project and Tweether project. He contributes to International telecommunications standardisation activities and several industry forums. Andy is a Chartered Engineer, Fellow of the IET and Fellow of the ITP.
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About BT Global Services: BT Global Services plc is a division of United Kingdom telecommunications operator BT Group.
Paul Gunning
Principal Researcher of BT Global Services
Paul Gunning is a Principal Researcher in the Converged Networks practice at BT Research & Innovation investigating Optical, Ethernet, and Software Defined Networking. He received his BSc in Applied Physics from Dublin City University in 1992. Paul joined BT in 1994, was awarded an MSc in Laser Physics (1995) and a PhD in Photonic Switching (2001) from Essex University.
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About BT Global Services: BT Global Services plc is a division of United Kingdom telecommunications operator BT Group.
Anthony Santospirito
Senior Principal of Cinven
Anthony is a member of the Healthcare sector team. He has been involved in a number of investments, including Premium Credit Limited. Previously, Anthony was an Associate at Morgan Stanley in the Investment Banking Division, working across a range of sectors including media, mining, financial services, retail and utilities. Anthony graduated from Oxford University with an MA in Mathematics. He joined Cinven in 2011.
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About Cinven: Cinven is an international private equity firm focused on building world-class global companies.
Adam Prindis
Principal of Cinven
Adam is a member of the TMT sector team and the regional team for Emerging Europe. He has been involved in a number of transactions, including Allegro, Northgate Public Services, RTB House, Ufinet and Visma. Prior to Cinven, Adam worked at Perella Weinberg Partners in their Technology team, advising on M&A, restructuring and private capital transactions. Adam has a BSc in Business Administration from Bath University. He joined Cinven in 2013.
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About Cinven: Cinven is an international private equity firm focused on building world-class global companies.
Matteo Cora
Senior Principal of Cinven
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About Cinven: Cinven is an international private equity firm focused on building world-class global companies.
Andrea Bertolini
Senior Principal of Cinven
Andrea is a member of the Financial Services sector team and the regional team for Italy. He has been involved in a number of transactions, including Avolon, AXA Life Europe, Eurovita, Guardian Financial Services, Partnership and Viridium Group. Prior to Cinven, Andrea worked in the Investment Banking Division of Citigroup in London, advising on M&A transactions in the consumer, retail and healthcare sectors. Andrea graduated from Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Milan with a BA in Business Administration. He joined Cinven in 2011.
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About Cinven: Cinven is an international private equity firm focused on building world-class global companies.
Eugenio Preve
Senior Principal of Cinven
Eugenio Preve is a member of the Industrials sector team and the regional team for Italy. He has worked on a number of investments, including Amadeus, Avio, Eurovita and Medpace. Prior to joining Cinven, Eugenio spent over four years at J.P. Morgan in London and Milan working on a variety of mandates with the European TMT team and the Italian Advisory team. Eugenio has an MSc in Business Administration from the Bocconi University in Milan and also studied at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He joined Cinven in 2009.
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About Cinven: Cinven is an international private equity firm focused on building world-class global companies.
Stephen Greenslade
Principal Solutions Architect of EE
Stephen is a Principal Solutions Architect at EE, operator of the UK’s largest mobile network. He has architected major network projects such as NGN Gi, IP interconnect, femtocells, EE WiFi on the London Underground and QoS enablement. Architecture lead during EE’s successful response to the UK government’s tender to provide mobile network services for the Emergency Services Network, he has 20 years of architecture experience with mobile operators starting with his first telecoms role in Accra, Ghana. Stephen graduated from the University of Cambridge, is a member of the IET and holds an MBA.
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About EE: EE is a telecommunications company that provides 4G mobile and fixed fiber broadband services to personal and business customers.
Afzal Ali
Principal Engineer & Expert – Synthetic Environments & Experimentation of Airbus Defence & Space
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About Airbus Defence & Space: Airbus Defence & Space develops and engineers products in the fields of defense and space.
Chris Mulley
Principal Architect, CTO Group of ZTE
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About ZTE: ZTE provides telecommunications equipment and network solutions.
Eden Zoller
Principal Analyst of Ovum
Eden Zoller serves as the Principal Analyst at Ovum.
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About Ovum: Ovum provides research, consulting, and analysis services for clients to make business and technology decisions.
Rik Turner
Principal Analyst of Ovum
Rik Turner is a Senior Analyst in Ovum’s IT Security and Technology team, specializing in cybersecurity technology trends, IT security, compliance and call recording, He provides analysis and insight on market evolution and helps end users determine which type of technology and which vendor they should be pursuing. Rik has also worked in Ovum’s Financial Services Technology team with a specialization in capital markets technology.
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About Ovum: Ovum provides research, consulting, and analysis services for clients to make business and technology decisions.
Andy Kellett
Principal Analyst – IT Security of Ovum
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About Ovum: Ovum provides research, consulting, and analysis services for clients to make business and technology decisions.
Andrew Kellett
Principal Analyst – IT Security and Retired IT Analyst of Ovum
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About Ovum: Ovum provides research, consulting, and analysis services for clients to make business and technology decisions.
Gabriel Brown
Principal Analyst of Heavy Reading
Gabriel covers the mobile network system architecture, including evolution of the RAN, the mobile core, and service-layer platforms and applications. Key technologies in his coverage area include LTE Advanced, small cells, Evolved Packet Core, carrier WiFi, and software-centric networking technologies such as NFV, SDN, and service chaining. Gabriel has covered mobile networking since 1998 through published research, live events, operator surveys, and custom consulting. Prior to joining Heavy Reading, Gabriel was Chief Analyst for Light Reading Insider research service; before that, he was editor of IP Wireline and Wireless Week at London’s Euromoney Institutional Investor. He is based in London.
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About Heavy Reading: Heavy Reading is the research division of Light Reading offering deep analysis of emerging telecom trends to network operators.
Simon Stanley
Founder and Principal Consultant of Earlswood Marketing Limited
Simon Stanley is Founder and Principal Consultant at Earlswood Marketing Ltd., an independent market analyst and consulting company based in the U.K. His work has included investment due diligence, market analysis for investors, and business/product strategy for semiconductor companies. Simon has written extensively for Heavy Reading and Light Reading. His reports and Webinars cover a variety of communications-related subjects, including LTE, Policy Management, SDN/NFV, IMS, ATCA, 100/400G optical components, multicore processors, switch chipsets, network processors, and optical transport.Prior to founding Earlswood Marketing, Simon spent more than 15 years in product marketing and business management. He has held senior positions with Fujitsu, National Semiconductor, and U.K. startup ClearSpeed, covering networking, personal systems, and graphics in Europe, North America, and Japan. Simon has spent over 30 years in the electronics industry, including several years designing CPU-based systems, before moving into semiconductor marketing. In 1983, Stanley earned a Bachelor’s in Electronic and Electrical Engineering from Brunel University, London.
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About Earlswood Marketing Limited: Earlswood Marketing Limited is an independent market analyst and consulting company based in the UK.