Darren Shenkin | Founder
Shenkin Advisory

Darren Shenkin is the Founder of Shenkin Advisory and an experienced telecommunications strategy and commercial leader with more than 20 years' experience helping operators, investors and technology businesses grow within the UK connectivity market. His career spans senior leadership roles at BT, Hyperoptic and ITS Technology Group, where he led strategy, commercial development, investment planning, partnerships, bid management and digital infrastructure initiatives. Darren has worked extensively across full fibre, wholesale, public sector connectivity, data centres, network expansion and M&A, supporting both rapid-growth businesses and established operators. Today, through Shenkin Advisory, he advises telecommunications providers, private equity investors and infrastructure businesses on commercial strategy, growth opportunities, market entry, due diligence and investment decisions. His broad experience across operators, infrastructure owners and investors gives him a well-rounded perspective on the commercial, technical and customer challenges shaping the UK telecoms sector. Darren is passionate about recognising innovation that delivers measurable business value alongside meaningful benefits for customers, communities and the wider digital economy. As a judge, he brings an independent, commercially focused perspective and a deep understanding of the factors that drive successful, sustainable growth across the connectivity industry.