Further expansion as The Scotland 5G Centre makes ‘super six’ new appointments to growing team

The Scotland 5G Centre continues to expand, confirming six more appointments as it develops its far-reaching 5G strategy through a network of regionally relevant hubs stationed across Scotland.

Ian Sharp joins the team as the Head of Business Development, aiming to increase the Centre’s profile and visibility in Scotland, the wider UK and internationally. Ian will be responsible for developing new partnerships, key strategic alliances and sourcing opportunities in order to support advancement of 5G in Scotland.

Ian joins the Centre from the University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service, Edinburgh Innovations.  Here, Ian introduced a range of initiatives to drive collaboration and increase impact, such as the University’s AIMday program and its new strategic partnering program.

Ian said: “The Scotland 5G Centre represents a fantastic opportunity to ensure Scotland is at the forefront of the 5G revolution – I’m delighted to join the team.”

Also joining the core Centre team, Esther Francisco has been appointed as Marketing and Communications Manager and will be responsible for developing and implementing the communications and marketing strategy for the Scotland 5G Centre.

Esther said: “It’s an exciting time to join The Scotland 5G Centre during a period of rapid growth. I am looking forward to further raising the profile of the Centre to enable faster and wider 5G adoption across Scotland and to show the value and impact of the Centre and its national network of S5GConnect Innovation Hubs.”

Esther has over 12 years of international marketing experience with a number of leading companies having previously worked for s1homes, part of the Newsquest Group, as Marketing Manager where she led the development of the brand and communication strategies, and for German Doner Kebab as International Marketing Manager where she established the strategy and plans for new markets in North America.

This month, the Centre has also appointed two Business Engagement Managers to their S5GConnect hubs at Dumfries and Forth Valley.

Andrew Todman heads up S5GConnect Dumfries, based at the Crichton Central – a new digitally enabled collaborative centre for learning and rural innovation on the Crichton Estate. Prior to joining the Scotland 5G Centre team, Andrew has held Chief Executive Officer roles including for a chain of residential nursing homes, and an Age UK Brand partner, and prior to those as Head of Service at Loreburn Housing Association.

Thomas Marchbanks heads up S5GConnect Forth Valley having spent many years delivering advice to UK businesses looking to enter overseas territories and expand their footprint in existing markets, on behalf of both national & regional governments, as well as for the Scottish Government.  Thomas is also a seasoned inward investment practitioner helping to build billion-dollar investment pipelines for national governments at home and overseas.

Also joining The Scotland 5G Centre team are Jackie Stevens, Finance and Business Operations Manager who joins the team from Rathbone Training where she was Programme Manager for Central Scotland and Siobhan Divers, Marketing Assistant who joins the team from Scottish Chambers of Commerce.