Press Release
CARDIFF, WALES – 2nd February, 2021 – Spectrum, the Cardiff based broadband service provider, today announced it is continuing to expand its sector-leading executive team with the appointments of Justin Leese as Chief Technical Operations Officer and Steve Cooper as Chief Delivery Officer. The appointments will help Spectrum to deliver on its initial £200m full fibre broadband plan for south Wales and play a key role in supporting Wales’ economy.
Industry leader, Justin Leese, joins Spectrum as Chief Technical Operations Officer, bringing a wealth of knowledge and 30 years experience in the telecoms industry from companies such as ScottishTelecom (Thus plc), NTL (Virgin Media), mBlox, Ericsson and Openreach. Most recently, Leese held the role of Programme Director at Building Digital UK, part of the UK Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, where he oversaw a multi-million pound portfolio of digital infrastructure programmes.
“Following the recent landmark investment in the company, it is an exciting time to be joining Spectrum,” said Leese. “I am very much looking forward to coming home and helping to deliver on Spectrum’s full fibre broadband plans for Wales.”
Steve Cooper, who recently joined as Chief Delivery Officer, has a proven track record in negotiating, structuring and delivering large and complex infrastructure programmes. Prior to joining Spectrum, Cooper led the delivery of fibre to the premises at WightFibre and was previously Executive Vice President, Europe, and a member of the Global Development Executive Group at Skanska Infrastructure Development – where he led the company’s European investment business, responsible for an investment portfolio of €600m.
“I am pleased to be joining such a talented group, and I am looking forward to working to transform the digital landscape in south Wales, including the connectivity of many currently underserved communities.” says Steve Cooper, Chief Delivery Officer at Spectrum. “I’m excited to be able to offer Welsh residents and businesses a far faster, greener and more reliable fibre service, and to be working with the whole team to make Spectrum Wales’s leading homegrown broadband services provider.”
This announcement follows the appointments of other senior industry figures to Spectrum in recent months, which reflects the scale of its growth plans following a landmark investment. These include CEO, Ben Allwright, Chief Revenue Officer, Sally-Ann Skinner, Chief Marketing Officer, Mari Stevens, and Chief Financial Officer, Wyn Innes – with Spectrum founder Giles Phelps retaining a role as the company’s Chief Strategy Officer.
Having already doubled in size since last October, Spectrum also continues to grow the rest of the company, with a recruitment drive to fill more than a hundred newly created, senior or specialised roles in the business with many key roles currently being advertised.
-ENDS-
Media Enquiries:
spectrum@wearecohesive.com / 01291 626200
ADDITIONAL NOTES:
About Spectrum (www.spectruminternet.com)
Established by Chepstow-based tech entrepreneur Giles Phelps in 2011, Spectrum delivers high quality broadband and internet services in the south east Wales region. Mr Phelps will form part of a new Senior Management Team that has been established to grow the company following the investment. Read more about the investment here.
About full fibre broadband
Full fibre broadband uses fibre optic cables to connect homes and businesses directly to the local internet exchange. Full fibre connectivity significantly improves upload and download speeds and service reliability; and has the capacity to support future increases in data requirements – making the networks future-proof and long-lasting. Full fibre broadband coverage in Wales is currently estimated at around 19%.
