Chief Operating Officer

London, England, United Kingdom

Private AI provides cutting edge Machine Learning models that are the best in the world at identifying, redacting, and pseudonymizing Personally Identifiable Information (PII) from semi and unstructured datasets. We deliver 99.5%+ accuracy in 33 languages across 50+ different entity types. Our technology is deployed as a software Docker container within out customers existing infrastructure so that their data never leaves their environment and is never shared.

Private AI

Ideated the creation of an ecosystem, bringing together entrepreneurs, cybersecurity experts, corporate CISO's, IHL's & investors to support the creation & development of cybersecurity start-ups in APAC. Created a partnership with the National University of Singapore (NUS) & gained Singapore government support via the Cyber Security Agency (CSA) & Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) to launch the Innovation Cybersecurity Ecosystem in Block71 (ICE71) in March of 2018.

Through the ICE71 Inspire, Accelerate & Scale programmes coupled with the community events, ICE71 became APAC's leading cybersecurity ecosystem & continues to support the growth of cybersecurity talent & start-ups, driving their innovative solutions in to the consumer, SME & corporate markets.

ICE71

Co-founder & Governing Board Member

USD$250M Corporate Venture Capital fund of the Singtel Group. With offices in Singapore, San Francisco, Tel Aviv, Beijing and Sydney, operating globally to invest in and partner with innovative technology start-ups that have a synergy with the strategy of the Singtel Group.

In addition to Venture Capital funding, Innov8 is a gateway for start-ups to leverage the resources, expertise and customers of the wider Singtel Group, while enabling the Group to gain access to insights and emerging technologies through the global innovation and start-up ecosystems.

The Innovation and Partnerships practice is responsible for scouting start-ups for investment, driving record levels of innovation through engagements between start-ups and business units across the group, supporting the growth of our portfolio investments and managing third party partnerships.

Singtel Innov8

Head of Innovation & Partnerships

ValidSoft was at the time a wholly owned subsidiary of ElephantTalk Communications, a publicly listed company (NYSE: ETAK), originally focused on the validation of mobile communication channels for the financial services sector. I was appointed Chief Executive Officer of ValidSoft by the board of ElephantTalk in order to “turn around” an under performing company within the group.

After an initial review we restructured the company, brought costs under control and executed a clear new strategy with supporting product portfolio, marketing and communications plan and go to market strategy. This led to ValidSoft becoming a market leader in multi-factor User Authentication and Voice Biometrics technology, experiencing global success and resulting in ValidSoft being prepared for it's subsequent acquisition & allowing ElephantTalk to benefit from the subsequent divestment and sale of ValidSoft.

ValidSoft

A former King's College facility, this gated development is a mixture of Grade II listed buildings and new build, with a swimming pool & leisure facilities, set in 7.5 acres of walled parkland in the heart of Chelsea, London.

Kings Chelsea Estate

Chairman Of The Board

MobiTV is a privately funded San Francisco based company, supplying a white label “TV Everywhere” solution that’s able to take live & on-demand TV content on to every screen (i.e. mobile, tablet, computer, television, set top box, etc.).

As Senior Vice President & General Manager of Europe, Middle East & Africa I undertook a one year contract to build & execute an international strategy. With a primary focus on telecommunication, television, cable & content companies, we secured the company’s first customers in Asia & Europe, generating a new revenue stream, while also putting in place local resources & a qualified business pipeline.

MobiTV

Senior Vice President & General Manager - EMEA

I support early, mid and later stage technology companies, giving strategic advice, support and mentoring in order to drive these companies to market success and ultimately IPO or acquisition.

I advise Private Equity, Venture Capital, Incubator and Accelerator funds in regard to their strategy in technology investments and in support of their portfolio companies.

I assist governments & corporates to engage with & support early stage technology companies, start-up ecosystems, entrepreneurialism & innovation.

I'm also an investor, & in some instances Board Director or Observer, in a number of early stage technology companies, Accelerators & Venture Capital funds.

Independent

Strategic Advisor, Angel Investor & Mentor

SpinVox, was a privately funded company based in the UK, supplying a unique “Voice to Screen” technology that was primarily sold to mobile operators, fixed line operators with a convergence strategy and Unified Communications OEMs. The technology enabled them to offer such advanced services as “VoiceMail to SMS or Email”, “Spoken SMS, Email, MIM, MBlog”, etc, greatly enhancing the end user experience and the carrier’s revenues from existing and new services.

As Chief Commercial Officer, reporting to the CEO, I successfully built a global Sales & Marketing team, with offices in London, Paris, Madrid, Rome, Dusseldorf, Sydney, Johannesburg, New York, San Francisco, Toronto, São Paulo, Mexico City & Santiago, focused on selling to the telecommunication operators in these regions. In a very short space of time this resulted in the securing of company and industry defining multi-million pound contracts with over thirty Tier 1 mobile operators together with the market leading VOIP, UC and Web2.0 companies and a solid pipeline for continued growth over the foreseeable future. As a result SpinVox was the clear market leader in its field and was successfully sold to Nuance in December 2009.

SpinVox (Nuance)

Chief Commercial Officer & EVP - Sales & Marketing

Visto (now, as Good Technology, acquired by Blackberry) was a privately funded US corporation, based in Silicon Valley, suppling mobile operators, enterprises & consumers with mobile Email, PIM and Device Management solutions.

-  Executive Vice President & General Manager of EMEA (Visto)			Jun’03 – Jul’05
Reporting to the CEO, managed all operations and activities in EMEA. Drove the integration of ViAir, created the global go-to-market strategy and led the subsequent acquisition and integration of Psion Software. This resulted in winning company and industry defining multi-million dollar contracts with several mobile telecom operators globally, including the Vodafone Group, to position Visto as the clear market leader in the field.

-  Executive Vice President of Global Sales & Operations (ViAir)			Jan’02 – Jun’03
Reporting to the CEO, developed a direct to wireless mobile operator sales strategy, coupled with a third-party channel strategy through a variety of equipment vendors and device manufacturers. Built a global sales team, leading to deployments with 12 major wireless operator groups globally and the subsequent acquisition by Visto Inc.

Visto (ViAir, Psion Software, Good Technology)

Executive Vice President - EMEA

Paragon Software developed software for synchronising personal information between the desktop, the internet and digital mobile devices.  Drove a new strategy that created successful growth and positioned the company as the market leader in its field. In February 2000 we successfully negotiated a ‘landmark deal’ in the industry, selling Paragon Software to <a href="http://Phone.com">Phone.com</a>, the world leader in WAP and mobile data technologies, for $515M.  In November 2000, <a href="http://Phone.com">Phone.com</a> merged with <a href="http://Software.com">Software.com</a> to become Openwave Systems, the leading supplier of software to the wireless telecoms industry.

-  Senior Vice President – Device Product Group				(Aug ’00 – Nov ‘01)
Successfully integrated Paragon Software within the <a href="http://Phone.com">Phone.com</a> team then developed and executed a synergistic and successful product development, sales and marketing plan.  Managed all sales and business development activities of data synchronisation products, globally, to wireless mobile device manufacturers and mobile operators.  Also managed a number of new initiatives in the areas of device manufacturer and mobile operator co-operation, the driving of new standards, SDK and application developer forums, merger, acquisition and integration activities, etc.

-  Executive Vice President, Sales, Marketing & Operations		(Apr ‘99 – Aug ‘00)
Reporting to the CEO, created and executed a new multi-channel go-to-market strategy that included establishing distribution channels, strategic alliances, OEM agreements and sales to mobile telecom operators. Also drove the creation of the SyncML forum and industry standard, thus establishing Paragon Software as the inventor and market leader of this new industry sector, resulting in substantial revenue growth.  Negotiated the alliance with <a href="http://Phone.com">Phone.com</a>, the world leader mobile data technologies, resulting in the ‘landmark acquisition’ of Paragon Software for $515M.

Openwave (Paragon Software, Phone.com, UnWired Planet)

Senior Vice President

Specialising in the design, development, and optimisation of wireless networks, utilising MSI’s market leading suite of software (Planet) and a first class consultancy division.  Grew annual revenues from $60M to $130M resulting in the sale of the company to Marconi for $618M.

-  Vice President, Sales & Operations - Europe, Middle East & Africa	(Jul ‘97 - Dec '98)
Initially as interim COO, after analysing existing procedures and structure was tasked by the Chairman with re-engineering the business and implementing the necessary changes to achieve renewed growth and group objectives to ensure a smooth flotation. This resulted in the modularisation and repositioning of the product, development of a marketing team and the development of regional sales teams in EMEA, APAC and the Americas.  Also, the spin off of the ‘Cellular Investments’ division into ‘CelTel’.

Then as ‘VP & GM – EMEA’, reporting to the CEO, drove the integrated management of the consultancy and sales teams that, together with a new commercial model and product positioning, resulted in increased business from existing clients and great success in winning new customers and contracts ranging from $250K to $25M per annum.

Mobile Systems International (Marconi, Ericsson)

Vice President - EMEA

A $2 billion US based technology manufacturer with 3 operating divisions – ‘Video Networking’, ‘Colour Printing and Imaging’ and the ‘Measurement Business Division’ (which was responsible for over 50% of the group’s total revenues and profits).

-  Director, Measurement Business Division			(Sept ‘95- Jun ‘97)
Reporting to the European President, directed and managed the UK operation, selling directly and through distributors, systems integrators and OEMs.  The company’s revenues had been declining by 5-10% annually.  I was recruited to restructure the UK & subsequently the European operation in order to regain profitable growth and market leadership.  This was achieved within the first year, profitably exceeding the $30M UK & $185M European targets. Maintained this impetus and exceeded target performance levels through the following financial year, despite a substantial reduction in the product portfolio and falling prices from increased competition and currency exchange rates.

Tektronix

Director - Measurement Business Division

Specialising in the distribution of market-leading computer hardware and software for CAD, CAE, multimedia, video conferencing, document management and image processing and networking systems. Successfully sold to the Computer2000 Group in 1992.

-  Sales and Marketing Director				(Feb ’91 - Mar ’95)
Responsible to the Group Managing Director, led office & field based sales, pre-sales and product marketing teams that generated annual revenue growth from £0.3M to £30M through all UK channels. Also, as a member of the Computer2000 International management team, was responsible for the execution of the Datech business model across the European region.

-  Business Development Manager				(Mar ’89 - Feb ’91)
Responsible for the development of major accounts and key supplier relationships, in conjunction with the identification and exploitation of new product opportunities and technical services. Transformed the technical services division (training, support and consultancy services) into a profitable business within a year, resulting in annual sales revenue growth from £3M to £9M.

-  Dealer Account Manager						(Mar ’88 - Mar’89)
Developed 'Value Added Sales' techniques to become the highest achieving salesman, responsible for annual sales revenue growth from £1M to £3M.

-  Engineering Software Consultant				(Sep’87 - Mar ‘88)
Developed the company’s CAD and CAE product portfolio and channels to market. Managed pre-sales and post-sales support through co-ordinated marketing and sales leadership, resulting in initial revenue growth from £0.3M to £1M within 6 months.

Datech (Computer 2000, Tech Data)

Sales & Marketing Director

- Managing Director					(Jan’86 - Sep ’87)
Founded the company, initially as a vehicle for my business development and electronic design consultancy services.  Completed several leading-edge design projects resulting in the successful acquisition of the company & several patents by Ascot International Inc. the USA.

Baron Electronics

Founder & Managing Director

- Manager of International Business Development / Chief Design Engineer       (Sep’84 - Jan’86)
Led the development of an advanced electro-mechanical weighing system. Then established the company’s manufacturing, sales & marketing facilities in Singapore and the USA, resulting in a substantial increase in business in both regions.

Weightech

Chief Design Engineer & International Business Development Manager

- Senior Design Engineer					(May’84 - Sep’84)
Revolutionised the manufacture of optical contact lenses with the design of the Polytech 1000, 3D lathe & control system that, after commissioning several successful trial manufacturing systems across Europe, was sold to the Pilkington Glass Group.

Contact Lens Supplies Limited

Senior Design Engineer

- Lead R&D Engineer /	Apprentice Engineer		(Sep’79 - May’84)
Completed a 4 year electronic design engineering apprenticeship, training in multiple disciplines & winning a Design Council award for the design of the ‘ExecuTel’ intelligent telephone system.

Paul Burmester

Paul Burmester