Paul takes a vision and makes it reality through strategic development. He is passionate about mobile telecommunications and delivering socio-economic benefit to a broad range of stakeholders enabling digital connectivity.

Previously, as founder of his consultancy practice, Paul advised both private and public-sector organisations on major strategic initiatives, taking advantage of the latest wireless capabilities to develop coherent plans to deliver organisational goals and increased business value.

Paul began his career on the first graduate training scheme run by Orange, now EE, and rose through the company to become head of strategic development. There, he played a key role in establishing the UK’s first deployments of 4G services in rural communities.

He was recently recognised as one of the Connected Britain Top 100 influencers.

Find out more about Paul here.

Vinny joined the Scotland 5G team in April 2022 as Operations Director.

Vinny began his career as a Royal Navy Warfare Officer before joining Scottish Water as a project manager primary managing their corporate performance.

Following this, Vinny held a number of senior positions within the world of sport including becoming the first Operations Manager at Scottish Hockey; Director and Chair at Scottish Archery; and CEO of Scottish Fencing.

Over the lockdown period, Vinny chaired the Scottish Governing Body CEO Forum which engaged directly with the Scottish Government and the Sports Minister to navigate the route out of lockdown for sport and reshape the role sport can play to support the nations recovery.

Find out more about Vinny here.

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.

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.

Find out more about Ian here.

Luca joined The Scotland 5G Centre team in December 2021.

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.

Arthur joined the Scotland 5G Centre in May 2022 and is currently responsible for directing the execution of strategic projects.

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.

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, he 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 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.

Find out more about Esther here.

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 joined the Scotland 5G Centre team as a Marketing Assistant in August 2021 and was promoted to Marketing and Events Officer in June 2022.

Prior to this, Nicola 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 8 years experience of working within higher education.

Her work includes event management, content creation, digital marketing, social media management, graphic design, web 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.

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.

Lara joined The Scotland 5G Centre team as the Interim Business Engagement Manager for the S5GConnect Dundee hub.

With a career spanning 23 years across media, advertising, creative industries, publishing and connected places, Lara has a passion for business development, strategy and growth.

Having received an opportunity to work within world-leading projects in the smart city sector with Bristol is Open and the city councils Smart Operations Centre, and with SFT for the Dundee 5G Testbed, Lara has a thorough level of knowledge around the capabilities of new technologies, IOT and 5G.

As an RSA fellow with a commitment to volunteering, Lara has experience with UN Women and Women’s Enterprise Scotland and with a keen interest in the start-up scene, specifically around women in business, Lara has appeared on panels at the Festival of Female Entrepreneurs and for She Means Business and is also an SME advisor for Enterprise Nation. Lara has also mentored for the Tech Accelerator Programme Ignite and for Lancaster University.

Find out more about Lara here.

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.

Find out more about Andy here.

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.

Find out more about Tom here.

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.

Ahmed joined Scotland 5G centre 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.

Graham joined the S5GC team in January 2022, supporting the S5GConnect team, Business Engagement Managers and the wider S5GC 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.