Who We Are
The Scotland 5G Centre is the national centre for accelerating the deployment and adoption of 5G connectivity in Scotland’s Industry and Public Sectors. Funded by the Scottish Government, the Centre is uniquely positioned with connections to industry, telecom providers and academia – allowing the team to work collaboratively and support the delivery of advanced communications solutions, future proofed to unlock Scotland’s digital potential.
Brochure
Mission
Delivering economic impact through accelerating the deployment and adoption of 5G, in support of the Scottish Government’s National Strategy.
The Scotland 5G Centre has 4 key pillars:


Coverage
Ensuring organisations have access to cutting-edge technology and reliable mobile coverage.

5G Support
Supporting organisations to procure and deploy 5G networks.

Engagement
Demonstrating the value and potential of 5G to organisations.

Innovation
Fostering innovation and supporting organisations to access investment.
Management Team
We’re a growing team at The Scotland 5G Centre, and our connections reach across the industry, public sector and research community. From our base in the Glasgow City Innovation District and our S5GConnect hubs, we work with people across Scotland and beyond. We also work closely with our Governing Board and Strategic Advisory Group.

Ian Sharp
Head of Strategy and Delivery
Ian joined The Scotland 5G Centre team in June 2021 as Head of Business Development and his role includes developing new partnerships, key strategic alliances and opportunities in order to support advancement of 5G in Scotland.
Ian has significant experience in business development gained in the public, private and academic sectors. In addition to successfully developing new business and growing sales, he has led major bids, managed strategic partnerships, and developed, implemented and managed new projects.
He joins the Centre from the University of Edinburgh’s Edinburgh Innovations, where he headed a team focussed on engaging with Industry to deliver innovation; he introduced a range of initiatives to drive collaboration and increase impact, such as the University’s AIMday program and its new strategic partnering program.
Prior to joining Edinburgh Innovations, Ian was responsible for delivering technology transfer/implementation from MoD to UK Industry in Scotland, working with a diverse range of UK companies at a senior level.

Arthur Smith
Head of Operations
Arthur joined The Scotland 5G Centre in May 2022 and was responsible for directing the execution of strategic projects. In January 2023, Arthur took up the role of Head of Operations.
During his 30+ year career in the telecommunications sector, Arthur held engineering and leadership roles with STC Technology in England, Bell Northern Research in Canada, Ciena Corporation in the USA and Intune Networks in Ireland. With senior corporate positions in product development, manufacturing/supply chain management, customer service and M&A, Arthur brings a wealth of experience in leading large/complex projects and introducing state-of-the-art networking equipment to carriers and enterprises.
Most recently, Arthur was with the University of Glasgow, where he held a leadership position at their flagship nanofabrication facility.
Arthur is a graduate of the University of Glasgow with a B.Eng. and PhD.

Sue Berry
Executive Assistant
Sue is the CEO’s Executive Assistant and also provides Admin support to the wider S5GC Team.
Sue’s background is over 15 years experience working for C Suite Executives in both the Private and Public Sectors and Military Commanders in Jersey, London and Germany. More recently Sue was the EA to the Senior MoD Civil Servant in Germany and worked with the British Forces in their large scale programme to relocate over 8,000 Troops and their families back to the UK.
Sue is a Member of the Royal Society of Arts Dip R.S.A. and received military commendations from 2* Generals for her work undertaken in Germany.

Jackie Steven
Finance & Business Operations Manager
Jackie joined The Scotland 5G team in May 2021 as Finance and Business Operations Manager.
Prior to this, Jackie has worked within education, holding a key position at Calderglen High School, before moving into the Third Sector, where she worked with charities training clients who faced barriers, upskilling individuals within the local authorities in employability and IT.
Following this, Jackie joined Rathbone Training as Programme Manager for North and South Lanarkshire and was shortly afterwards promoted to Programme Manager for Central Scotland.
Jackie’s major strength is developing the strategies required to achieve the desired results while building a highly motivated team.

Graham Thom
Financial Administrator
Graham joined The Scottish 5G Centre team in January 2022, supporting the S5GConnect team however has since moved to the Operations team.
Graham has 13 years of experience in customer service and administration within the fitness industry, most recently for the UK’s leading health and wellbeing charity in an administration and client supporting role and he has extensive knowledge of data management, financial reporting and administration using various client software’s.
In a previous role, Graham was voted co-worker of the year.

Neil Brown
Programme Manager
Neil joined The Scotland 5G team in September 2022 as a Programme Manager.
Neil began his career by joining the Army straight after leaving secondary school, serving in a variety of countries around the world. Upon leaving the military, Neil went into the security industry for 10 years, managing large corporate contracts for clients throughout Scotland.
Following on from that, Neil then went into the world of project management, working for a large change management & business relocations consultancy (fun fact: Neil managed the relocation of staff, departments, laboratories etc. into the new Technology & Innovation Centre, the building that S5GC is based in!).
Neil then went onto other roles within programme management, based within the University of Strathclyde, The Data Lab – Innovation Centre and then the Digital Curation Centre, based at the University of Edinburgh.
In his spare time, Neil also holds a position as a Volunteer at Who Dares Cares, a charity who support our Armed Forces, Emergency Services and Veterans, including their Families and Dependents, who are suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

Alan Lillie
Project Coordinator
Alan joined The Scotland 5G Centre team as a Project Coordinator in August 2022.
Alan is a Chartered IT Professional, PRINCE2, MSP and TOGAF practitioner with over 40 years’ leadership and management experience in Information Technology, Systems Analysis and Design, Project and Programme Management, Voice, Video and Data Communications within the NHS, MOD, public and private sectors.
Since joined the University of Strathclyde in 2019 with the Digital Health & Care innovation Centre has worked on numerous projects involving partners from across UK, Europe and USA, through his previous work with the NHS in Cumbria, Alan was instrumental in developing centralised shared IT Services to support all NHS organisations in Cumbria, development of the Cumbria Community of Interest Network and its subsequent migration to MPLS network and also introduction Enterprise Architecture methodologies.
Alan enjoys the challenge of developing new and innovative ways of working and maximising the use of new technology which will help individuals live healthier happier lives.

Esther Francisco Ballesteros
Marketing and Communications Manager
Esther joined The Scotland 5G Centre team as Marketing and Communications Manager in May 2021.
Esther holds a BA (honours) in Business and Administration as well as an MA in Marketing and has over 12 years of international marketing experience with a number of leading companies.
Most recently Esther worked for s1homes, part of the Newsquest Group, as the Marketing Manager responsible for leading the development of the brand and communication strategies and for German Doner Kebab as their International Marketing Manager establishing the strategy and plans for new markets in North America.
Prior to this, Esther worked in several marketing positions within the FMCG sector at Heineken, Mondelez and Avon and has experience developing and implementing marketing and communication strategies, leading offline and online marketing activities, managing B2B and B2C multichannel campaigns, ensuring brand growth and audience engagement.

Siobhan Divers
Marketing and Communications Officer
Siobhan joined The Scotland 5G Centre team as a Marketing Assistant in April 2021 and was promoted to Marketing and Communications Officer in June 2022.
Prior to this, Siobhan held positions at Scottish Chambers of Commerce and Newsdirect and has volunteered for a number of organisations including Maryhill Burgh Halls Trust and Take One Action Film Festival.
Always keen to learn something new, her skill-set spans from event-planning to magazine journalism and social media management, and she has also tried her hand in film-making, political reporting and radio broadcasting.
Siobhan graduated from the University of Stirling with a BA (Hons) in History & Journalism Studies in 2018.

Nicola Graham
Marketing and Events Officer
Nicola joined the Centre in August 2021 and prior to this, she worked in the Marketing and Communications team in the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences at the University of Strathclyde. She has also worked for the University of Glasgow and has over 9 years experience of working within higher education.
Her work includes event management, content creation, digital marketing, social media management, graphic design, web design/management, video editing and customer relations.
Nicola has a Bachelor of Design Degree from the University of Dundee and graduated in 2009.
She is also employed by the Scottish Rugby Union and assists with match day events.

Jack Waland
Delivery Manager
Jack Waland is the Centre’s Delivery Manager, supporting hub-based activities and projects.
Jack joined the team in 2021 as Technical Support Manager before taking up the role as Delivery Manager in November 2022.
Jack has extensive experience in the telecommunications industry, specialising in technical aspects of cellular network delivery, the physical integration of User Devices (both CPE and Mobile Handsets) into the network and the design of IOT data flow across the cellular environment.
Working previously on many DCMS private network programmes, Jack is well versed in the design, operation, benefit realisation and reporting of specialist 5G Use Cases in multiple sectors.

Luca Campanalonga
Technical Business Development Manager
Luca joined The Scotland 5G Centre team in December 2021 as Project Manager.
Owning technical and commercial experience in the telecommunications industry, he is truly passionate in realizing the potential of new connectivity technologies, to create value across traditional and emerging sectors, as well as improve the lives of individuals in Scotland’s communities.
Luca holds a M.Sc. in Telecommunications Engineering, obtained at Politecnico di Milano University.
During his studies, Luca covered commercial roles for Sony Electronics, introducing the latest innovations in professional/consumer markets.
Following this, he joined Nokia Bell Labs to work on cutting-edge 5G technologies, helping in the definition of future RAN and co-authoring research publications.
Prior to S5GC, Luca worked as Technical Sales Engineer on wireless solutions with SIAE Microelettronica, driving advanced connectivity projects for UK & Ireland ISPs and Network Operators, from the technical design phase to the network implementation.

Ahmed Sabir
Business Engagement Manager - S5GConnect Aberdeen
ahmed.sabir@scotland5gcentre.org
S5GConnect Aberdeen,
ONE Hub, Schoolhill, Aberdeen, AB10 1JQ
Ahmed Sabir joined The Scotland 5G Centre in July 2022 as the Business Engagement Manager for S5GConnect Aberdeen based at ONE Hub to help accelerate the adoption of the new technology and foster innovation in Scotland. A tech enthusiast, Ahmed enjoys the role immensely and aims to help his clients understand the technology and incorporate it into their business strategy.
Ahmed has spent most of his career delivering high-tech, high-risk projects in remote and challenging conditions. From the Sahara Desert to the arctic North, leading teams across cultures and through language barriers was his biggest challenge and greatest reward at the same time.
After working/living/studying in over 30 countries, Ahmed chose to settle down in Aberdeen in 2014. The longest he had ever lived in one place.
Ahmed switched from his hands-on engineering career to business support in 2016, when he enrolled in the MBA program at the University of Aberdeen and started to work in business consulting. Since then, Ahmed has helped launch many Aberdeen-based start-ups and helped many more existing businesses grow and expand.
Ahmed volunteers as a STEM ambassador and sometimes with “Street Friends”, a local charity working with homeless people or Shelter Scotland.

Andy Todman
Business Engagement Manager - S5GConnect Dumfries
andy.todman@scotland5gcentre.org
S5GConnect Dumfries,
Crichton Central, The Crichton Estate, Bankend Road, Dumfries, DG1 4TA
Andy joined The Scotland 5G Centre team in May 2021 as Business Engagement Manager for the S5GConnect Dumfries Hub based at the Crichton Central, a new digitally enabled collaborative centre for learning and rural innovation at the Crichton Estate in Dumfries, serving the south of Scotland.
Andy’s key role is fostering innovation and collaboration by bringing together partners across the Private, Public and Third Sectors, creating a pipeline of projects that will promote 5G and its relevant application to organisations through the S5GConnect Hub.
Previously Andy has held Chief Executive Officer roles for a chain of residential nursing homes, and an Age UK Brand partner, prior to those as a Head of Service at Loreburn Housing Association where he worked with partners to introduce ARMED, a wearable digital health falls prevention device, into sheltered housing and therefore brings a wealth of Health and Social Care experience to the Hub role. In addition, Andy has worked across Dumfries and Galloway in a business development role for a US multinational serving sectors including the Agrifood sector.

Kirsty Scott
Business Engagement Manager - S5GConnect Dundee
kirsty.scott@scotland5gcentre.org
S5GConnect Dundee,
Cyber Quarters, Bell Street, Dundee, DD1 1HG
Kirsty joined The Scotland 5G team in July 2022 to engage with the region’s businesses. She brings a specialist range of knowledge from 14 years in Computer Games Development in Dundee with a background working in STEM skills as well as in-depth project management experience successfully delivering Tay Cities Deal pipeline projects. She joins from the Economic Development team in Angus, focussed on engaging with business stakeholders to identify support entering new and existing markets in key sectors.
Kirsty’s career has a legacy of business development, strategy and investment towards business growth and passionate in creating value through enabling people and businesses realising their full potential. Her key role will be working in partnership across public and private industry to create awareness of 5G application through testing and business support via the S5GConnect Hub.

Tom Marchbanks
Business Engagement Manager - S5GConnect Forth Valley
tom.marchbanks@scotland5gcentre.org
S5GConnect Forth Valley,
Forth Valley College, Alloa Campus, 1 Devon Road, Alloa, FK10 1PX
Tom joined The Scotland 5G Centre team in May 2021 as Business Engagement Manager for the S5GConnect Forth Valley Hub bringing a deep understanding of business engagement across a broad range of industrial sectors as well as a thorough understanding of the public service.
Tom has spent many years delivering advice to UK businesses looking to enter overseas territories or expand their footprint in existing markets on behalf of both national & regional governments as well as for the Scottish Government. He is also a seasoned inward investment practitioner helping to build billion-dollar investment pipelines for national governments at home and overseas whilst also supporting the delivery of headline projects, such as the SAIC investment from China into the Longbridge car plant in Birmingham.
After returning from his last overseas appointment in the Middle East in 2017, Tom established his own consultancy company working with local companies looking to internationalise.

Who we work with
We currently work with a diverse range of partners across our innovation hubs and projects, supporting businesses to develop their digital strategy and futureproof operations, products and services.

Who we work with
Governing Board
Helping steer the Scotland 5G Centre’s direction and focus is our experienced and expert Governing Board, which provides leadership, strategic direction and oversight for the Scotland 5G Centre. The Board comprises of our Chair, CEO and individuals appointed by our founding partners.

Mark Hanson
Vice Chair
Mark has a wealth of experience driving growth for entrepreneurial technology companies in Scotland which include; high end audio manufacturer Linn Products, quantum pioneer M Squared Lasers and digital communications specialist Logicomms.
Having held a variety of senior leadership positions within engineering, procurement, sales and operations, he understands what it takes to take ideas from concept through to delivery and commercial success.
Mark is proud of Scotland’s engineering heritage and looks forward to helping the centre deliver the wider societal benefits that 5G will bring to the country.

Fiona Smith
Non-Executive Director
Fiona Smith, Group Head of Aerodrome Strategy for AGS Airports Ltd, is an experienced leader in the aviation sector, specialising in technology identification and its application in operational settings.
With experience gained across seven airports internationally and for the UK CAA, Fiona is a leading figure in the sector. She is a founding member of the industry governance framework on Airspace Modernisation, and Project Director for Future Flight project CAELUS, an Innovate UK funded consortium of 16 companies demonstrating viability of a drone enabled national network serving NHS in Scotland.
She passionately supports initiatives driving social inclusion, sustainability and diversity and inclusion.

Sarah Eynon
Scottish Futures Trust
Sarah is the Program Director for Digital Infrastructure at Scottish Futures Trust. She leads a team that supports the Scottish Government in the delivery of its 5G Strategy, the Green Data Centre Vision and Action Plan and the Scottish 4G Infill programme, and leads the delivery of the DCMS Digital Connectivity Infrastructure Accelerator pilot project Infralink Exchange.
Sarah led the establishment of the Scotland 5G Centre and now sits on the Governing Board with a drive to ensure that 5G is tied into the broad tech scene in Scotland and in particular there is shared best practice across the UK about overcoming the challenges of deploying mobile infrastructure. She promotes Scotland’s 5G activity and specifically the work of the Scotland 5G Centre as part of the UK5G SME&LEP working group and across other collaborative forums.

Helen Harkness
University of Glasgow
Helen Harkness is the Head of Research for the College of Science and Engineering at the University of Glasgow. She has an MBA and a BSc Hons in Physics and brings over 25 years of management experience working in manufacturing, healthcare and academia.
Throughout her career, Helen has worked with UK and International customers, and she spent three years in Hungary as part of a start-up team at a greenfield manufacturing facility. She is passionate about the opportunity to support the Scotland 5G Centre and the businesses, innovators and pioneers of Scotland who will deliver creative case studies to showcase 5G capabilities.

Professor Chris Pearce
University of Glasgow
Chris is Professor of Computational Mechanics in the James Watt School of Engineering at the University of Glasgow. He holds the Royal Academy of Engineering / EDF Energy Research Chair and is co-Director of the Glasgow Computational Engineering Centre. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers and a Chartered Engineer. He is currently Vice Principal (Research) at the University of Glasgow, and a Director of the Scottish Research Partnership for Engineering.
His research has delivered advances in the computational analysis of materials and structures, and has led him to work closely with the civil nuclear industry, providing computational modelling tools and advice for assessing structural integrity.

Professor Bob Stewart
University of Strathclyde
Bob Stewart is a Professor at Strathclyde University where he leads a 5G Software-Defined-Radio team, and where he is also the lead on the University 5G Industry Cluster within the Glasgow City Innovation District.
He has more than 30 years of experience in wireless and mobile, from 1G to today’s 5G architectures. He was previously a Visiting Professor at UCLA Extension School for 20 years, and a founder and the Director of the tech company Steepest Ascent Ltd, prior to acquisition by MathWorks in 2013.
Most recently Bob led the University’s 5GRuralFirst project activity, and now chairs and manages the 5G New Thinking project co-funded by DCMS with lead partner Cisco. Bob is also Chair of UK Spectrum Policy Forum’s Cluster 2, tasked with advancing initiatives related long-term spectrum strategy, including 6G.

Kerry Alexander
Scottish Futures Trust
Kerry Alexander is the Director for Infrastructure Finance and Programmes for Scottish Futures Trust where she leads SFT’s work in the Digital, Net Zero and Education infrastructure sectors. A chartered accountant with over 20 years experience, both in private practice and in the public sector, Kerry provides commercial and financial support to infrastructure development that can contribute to vibrant places to live and work in Scotland.
Kerry joined the Governing Board of the Scotland 5G Centre in April 2022 and brings her experience of advising on collaborative partnering arrangements and commercial structures.

Founding Partners
The Scotland 5G Centre is an innovative partnership between the University of Strathclyde (which hosts us), the University of Glasgow and the Scottish Futures Trust, with investment from the Scottish Government.


Funded By
Scottish Government

Founding Partners
University of Glasgow

Founding Partners
University of Strathclyde

Founding Partners
Scottish Futures Trust
Strategic Advisory Group
Our Strategic Advisory Group advises and supports our Governing Board with the strategic direction of The Scotland 5G Centre – with a particular focus on driving value and maximising impact. The Strategic Advisory Group comprises of accomplished experts offering innovative advice and a dynamic perspective.

Claire Gillespie
Digital Technologies Sector Skills Manager, Skills Development Scotland
Claire has worked in the skills sector for almost 20 years and within digital technology skills since 2014 when Skills Development Scotland launched the first Skills Investment Plan for the tech sector. The overarching aim is to support employers to fill the 13,000 digital technology jobs in Scotland each year. To achieve this, Claire leads a small team who works with technology employers to influence digital skills education, and where appropriate to develop additional interventions in response to employer need. To bring the work of the team to life some examples of our projects include –
- CodeClan – reskilling individuals for tech jobs
- Digital World – promoting tech as career of choice
- Digital Xtra – industry support for tech clubs
- Discover Cyber Careers – live online lessons
The team works closely with Scottish Government and local authorities and is currently the delivery lead for Scottish Governments Digital Start Fund, their Digital Economy Units digital skills funding, and the Safer Communities Cyber Resilience Skills Action Plan. We also work with Glasgow City Council and support delivery of the skills actions in their Digital Glasgow Strategy.
Claire is Law graduate of the University of Strathclyde and has a Degree in Business and Entrepreneurship Studies at the University of West of Scotland. And she likes to combine her worlds with a keen interest in internet law.

Stephen Ingledew
Executive Chair, FinTech Scotland
Stephen is the Executive Chair of FinTech Scotland, the independent enterprise focused on delivering positive economic outcomes through financial innovation.
He has led FinTech Scotland since its formation in 2018, initially as Chief Executive, to be recognised as one of Europe’s top financial technology (fintech) economic cluster bodies, a status awarded in 2020.
This economic and innovation progress has been achieved by bringing together diverse participants such as entrepreneurs, large businesses, government, citizen and universities to drive positive economic outcomes whilst contributing to the global fintech movement.
Throughout his career, Stephen has been an influential advocate of making the financial world more open, creative and inclusive through innovative digital and data initiatives, encouraging progressive ways of working and collaboration across diverse stakeholders .
Stephen’s career over four decades has earned a track record and reputation for leading the implementation of customer focused, technology enabled initiatives in a wide range of financial firms, including executive roles with large institutions such as Standard Life and Barclays as well as a number of early-stage innovative enterprises.
Today, Stephen is also Member of the UK Government’s Innovation Expert Group, advising on how innovation can improve productivity across all sectors of the economy, as well as a Non-Executive Member of the University of Strathclyde Court, a member of the Scottish Government’s Financial Services Advisory Board and the UK Dept of International Trade FinTech Steering Board.
Living in Edinburgh with his family and enjoying his other passion of being a competitive long distance runner.

Regius Professor Rahim Tafazolli
Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering, IET, WWRF
Rahim Tafazolli, Fellow of Royal Academy of Engineering, IET, WWRF and is Regius Professor of Electronic Engineering, Professor of Mobile and Satellite Communications, Founder and Director of 5GIC, 6GIC and ICS (Institute for Communication System) at the University of Surrey. He has over 30 years of experience in digital communications research and teaching. He has authored and co-authored more than 1000 research publications and is regularly invited to deliver keynote talks and distinguished lectures to international conferences and workshops. He was advisor to Mayor of London (Boris Johnson) on London 2050 Infrastructure.

Dr. Mike Short CBE
Chief Scientific Adviser, Department for International Trade
Dr Mike Short CBE joined the Department for International Trade as the first Chief Scientific Adviser in December 2017.
Mike leads the science and engineering profession in the department and ensures its policy is informed by the best science, engineering and technical advice. He advises on technical aspects of future trade deals as DIT looks to create new arrangements following Brexit, and works with the UK’s research, development and academic communities to boost scientific and engineering exports.
Mike has over 40 years’ experience in electronics and telecommunications and served as Vice President of Telefonica, the parent company of 02. He managed the launch of 2G (GSM) and 3G mobile technologies in the UK and led research and development for Telefonica Europe.

Martyn Wallace
Chief Digital Officer – Digital Office for Scottish Local Government
Martyn leads the Digital Office for Scottish Local Government which was set up in October 2016 to look at creating, delivering and accelerating innovative digital solutions to help Scottish Councils with the challenge of balancing their budgets whilst still delivering critical front line services.
Martyn is also the Senior Responsible Officer for the Analogue to Digital Telecare Switchover programme which he works in partnership with Technology Enabled Care , Scottish Government and Health & Care colleagues.
Before joining the Digital Office and indeed Public Sector, Martyn’s career has been in the tech sector working with Private & Public Sector clients to understand and innovate with new Digital technology for over 20 Years. He has worked for companies including Capita Secure Digital Solutions, Telefonica O2UK, BlackBerry, Computacenter and Compaq plus been a board advisor to some start-ups.

Careers
Apply online for jobs at The Scotland 5G Centre. At the Centre, we aim to attract and retain unique and diverse professionals and offer them the opportunity to be part of a dynamic organisation.

The Scotland 5G Centre
Technology & Innovation Centre
Level 4, 99 George Street, Glasgow, G1 1RD