2026 Speakers

Gwenn Amice is Subject Matter Expert at EXFO, where he specializes in optical networks and transmission. With 30+ years of experience from R&D to field, he is a trusted advisor in his domain, working closely with system manufacturer, network operators and hyperscalers.Since 2019, Gwenn has also ...

      After graduating from Kristiania University with a First Class Honours in Computer Science, Erling joined the Lillehammer Winter Olympic Games in 1990 as a Project Controller and DBA, as well as the Norwegian Home Guard, before moving to Atea Norway as a Department Head in their Microsoft...

With a career spanning over two decades, Naaz Bax is a seasoned leader in the submarine cable and telecommunications industries, holding pivotal roles across operations, marketing, strategic partnerships, and executive leadership. Her work has consistently focused on driving visibility, building...

Erik-Jan Bos works for NORDUnet, the Nordic regional R&E Network serving the National R&E Networks in Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland. His role at NORDUnet is "Senior Advisor". At NORDUnet, he spent most of his time working on developing and de-risking the Polar...

Matt Bowden – Director of Operations at Red Penguin Marine. Matt is Director of Operations at Red Penguin Marine, providing support and strategic guidance to the global submarine cable sector. The company assists clients in managing risk across all stages of submarine interconnectors, offshore...

Business Development specialist with 25 years' experience in the international telecoms industry across a number of Strategy, Finance and Sales-supporting roles.  Joining Colt in 2012, Steve has managed the Network Expansion function for a number of regions across Europe and North...

Kent Bressie is Partner and Head of International Practice with the law firm HWG LLP in Washington DC and the Legal Adviser to the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), the world’s leading nongovernmental organization dedicated to submarine cable protection and resilience.  Kent has...

Horst is managing director and co-founder of Oceanic Environmental Cables GmbH.He has a very practical experience of over 35 years of building, running and growing companies based on a reliable and proven value approach for customers, employees and investors. Based on his experience as a serial...

Eckhard Bruckschen is the CEO/Owner of IOEMA Fibre Ltd., a company planning to construct a submarine fibre optic network in the Southern North Sea, connecting the continent with the Nordics. Eckhard is also a Director of Undersea Cable Consultancy Limited, offering his expertise and knowledge of...

Dr Butchart is an independent academic and advisor specialising in critical subsea infrastructure, national security, maritime, and international relations. She retired from the British Government in April 2025, after 18 years in both the civil and diplomatic services leading security policy...

Professional positions ·       Board Member at the Portuguese regulatory authority for postal, communications and electronic communications (Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações - ANACOM), since May 2023    ·       Former Senior consultant at the Competence Centre for Planning, Policy and...

Graduated in 1993 with a MBA obtained in Lyon School of Managment, Laurent Campagne has more than 30 years of experience in industrial area mainly in project management and commercial activities. In particular, he has worked more than 15 years in Submarine Cables industry with a specific experience ...

Louis Carver is a seasoned professional in the telecommunications industry with over 30 years of experience. Currently serving as the Chief Commercial Officer at Medusa Submarine Cable System, Louis is responsible for driving the company's commercial strategy and overseeing all aspects of...

Mr. Christopher Case is the senior intelligence analyst for Hybrid Threats assessments at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). He is a career intelligence officer with over twenty years’ experience in strategic, operational, and tactic analysis. Mr. Case served in the US Army...

Dr Franck Chevalier joined Analysys Mason in 2005 and currently holds the position of Head of Technical Consulting.  Franck has 25 years of experience in the Telecommunications industry, spanning pre-sales, research and consulting. Franck recently supported the European Expert Group (experts from...

In 35 years since completing his master’s degrees in physics and telecommunication (complemented with an MBA degree), Bertrand Clesca has worked for three long-haul optical transport/system equipment suppliers (Alcatel, Corvis and Xtera) and one network consultancy prior to joining Pioneer...

She has in-depth knowledge and experience leading teams in innovative technological projects in the electronic communications industry and across several jurisdictions and regions, notably Europe and Africa. She has assisted various international organizations such as the International...

Hadleigh Coffey is the Senior Vice President of Product & Solution Engineering at FiberSense, where he leads strategic product and operational initiatives to expand the company’s advanced sensing solutions into global infrastructure markets. At FiberSense, Hadleigh combines deep industry...

Mike is co-chair of the international telecoms practice at global law firm DLA Piper LLP and the lead partner for digital infrastructure. He is rated in the "Hall of fame" by the Legal 500, signifying "lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and ...

Sylvain has been an investment banker for 30 years, specializing in M&A transactions, equity capital raising and financing both in France and internationally. He has advised on more than 100 transactions across a wide range of industries and services.Today, Sylvain focuses on sectors driving...

Stéphane Cugnon de Sévricourt is SVP of International Infrastructure at Orange. With over 20 years of experience spanning telecommunications, finance, and digital innovation, he is a true architect of connectivity and strategic growth. From designing cutting-edge networks to leading transformative...

Mike Cunningham is the founder and CEO of Crosslake Fibre and has over 20 years experience in the telecommunications and investment industries. Previously, Mr. Cunningham was on the board of Quintillion Subsea, and CEO of Arctic Fibre, the predecessor company to Quintillion. Mr. Cunningham began...

Dan has spent 30 years developing his expertise within the fibre optic industry, and the last 24 years focussed almost entirely on fibre sensing, covering applications such as Critical Undersea Infrastructure (CUI), Power Cable Monitoring, Pipeline Leak Detection and Security Dan has developed a...

Ciaran Delaney is EXA Infrastructure’s Chief Operating Officer. He’s responsible for leading Exa Infrastructure’s Network Operations, Engineering, Delivery, Customer Assurance, Vendor and Strategic Program Management teams. Prior to EXA Infrastructure, Ciaran lead GTT’s Optical Engineering and...

Didier Dillard is a senior telecommunications executive with most of his career spent at the Orange Group (formerly France Telecom) and several years at Sprint. He began in submarine cable operations, rising to Director of Marine Operations before moving into senior marketing, commercial, and...

Wilfried Dudink is responsible for Strategic Initiatives that seed future business, such as Edge Computing, Internet Peering, and Subsea Cables. Furthermore, business development with selected Strategic Accounts in the Connectivity segment, and Market Development, to strengthen the connectivity...

Philippe Dumont is a member of ‘2020 Capacity Power 100’ an elite group of the most influential people of the wholesale carrier community. He is a CEO with over 25 years of international experience in the Telecoms industry. His strong leadership style is supplemented with an entrepreneurial...

Rob has built an impressive career spanning over 15 years in the insurance industry, with a deep and diverse range of experience. He began his career in marine claims, where he gained a thorough understanding of the foundational principles of insurance, particularly how insurance contracts are...

Mark is the Founder and CEO of FiberSense. He is a multi-award-winning technology entrepreneur with a 30-year track record of founding deep tech startups in the ICT sectors of fiber telecommunications, sensing, cloud, and infrastructure. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company...

Darwin Evans is the Senior Director of Product Line Management for submarine applications at Ciena. In this role, he is responsible for creating the roadmap for Ciena’s modem and photonic submarine solutions. Prior to joining Ciena, Darwin worked in several engineering and product development...

With over 20 years in the telecommunications industry, Mattias Fridström can be considered a veteran – but his enthusiasm hasn’t faded. Mattias combines expert knowledge with anecdotes from behind the scenes and deep insight into the networked economy: What are the challenges of tomorrow for...

An infuencial telecoms professional with a wealth of experience in the development of network infrastructure, as wel as an in-depth understanding of the regional market conditions and regulatory issues that shape the subsea industry. Following more than 20 years in various roles in wholesale...

Peter Jamieson is the Current Vice-Chair, and former Chair, of the European Subsea Cables Association. Peter is the Principal Engineer for Subsea and Core Fibre at Virgin Media O2 where he manages all aspects of subsea cable infrastructure. Peter is member of the ITU Advisory Body on Submarine...

Hervé Jost is Director, Infrastructure Business Development and Eurotunnel concession at Colt Technology Services (Colt). His extended team has end-to-end responsibility for Business Development opportunities of Colt Infrastructure (including Subsea) as well as the delivery of Eurotunnel solutions...

Antti Kankkunen has more than thirty years of experience in the communications industry. He has held senior positions with responsibilities covering product planning, product strategy, technology strategy, business development, product line management, product development, and sales engineering. He ...

Pat has overall responsibility for Analysys Mason’s business in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. He is an experienced telecoms adviser who has worked extensively in the design, implementation and project management of fixed, wireless and sub-sea telecoms systems. Working for major...

Grace Koh is Vice President for Government Relations at Ciena, the world’s leading developer of optical networking equipment. Ms. Koh comes to Ciena with significant experience in government. She held the title of U.S. Ambassador, while serving as the U.S. Representative and Head of Delegation to...

Gretchen E. Krantz Evans is the U.S. Trade and Development Agency Country Manager for the Middle East and North Africa.  Ms. Krantz Evans is responsible for business development, project preparation and evaluation, and supervision of USTDA activities in the region.  She is a member of USTDA’s...

Dave LaPommeray serves as Senior Legal Counsel at IT International Telecom Inc., a Canadian-based technical consulting and installation company that provides a comprehensive set of services in the subsea cable industry, including turnkey design, installation and maintenance of marine cable...

Captain Niels Markussen graduated from the Royal Danish Naval Academy in 1990. He received his first command the same year, as commander of a patrol vessel operating in Danish waters and in the Baltic Sea. Most of his career he has spent at sea and he has had a total of five periods as commanding...

Sandra Maximiano, Chairwoman of ANACOM's Board of Directors since 15 December 2023, and Co-Chair of the ITU Advisory Body on Submarine Cable resilience, holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Amsterdam. She is an Associate Professor of Economics at ISEG - School of Economics &...

Sarah McComb is a Principal Network Business Developer with Amazon Web Services responsible for strategic subsea investments across the Pacific and global subsea regulatory engagements. With over 20 years’ experience in network acquisition and planning, Sarah has been with AWS for over 7 years and...

Oscar Monteagudo serves as the Carrier Sales & Sub-sea Business Development Director at Vodafone Business. In this capacity, he leads global engagement with carrier customers and spearheads the development and strategic expansion of new sub-sea cable systems, advancing worldwide connectivity...

Diana Montero Melis is Deputy Head of Unit at the European Commission, working on international partnerships with Latin America and the Caribbean. She focuses on strengthening cooperation between the European Union and partner regions, including on digital connectivity and infrastructure. Her work...

Vinay Nagpal is an industry leader and visionary with global experience developing products and solutions in wholesale and retail colocation data centers with a strong focus on subsea and terrestrial fiber connectivity. Currently, he is the CEO of IG Group, LLC. | InterGlobix, LLC., a global...

Richard Norris is Senior Director of Global Submarine System Engineering at Ciena with responsibility for submarine solution technical sales and development. He’s been in the telecom industry for over 30 years working for both vendors and operators. He was first involved in submarine networking in...

With over 20 years of experience at the intersection of technology and strategy, Michalis Oikonomakos is a seasoned Telecoms and Infrastructure Executive specializing in IP networks, interconnection, and wholesale services across Europe. Known for bridging deep technical expertise with commercial...

Andy Palmer-Felgate is responsible for marine engineering and route planning of submarine cable systems at Meta and serves as Vice President of the North America Submarine Cable Association.  Andy is also a Director and Executive Committee member of the International Submarine Cable Protection...

Isabelle is President and Founder of HOT TELECOM, one of the most innovative and creative telecom research and consulting companies in the industry. HOT TELECOM has been supporting operators and vendors on a global basis for over 20 years, more particularly on the subjects of International and...

Working in the Telecom business since graduation in Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores by IST Lisbon in 1992. Worked at Telecom Portugal, Philips Portuguesa and in 1996 joined Maxitel which was one of the very first private TELCO in the then recently liberalized Portuguese Market. Most...

Martin Prins is associated with The Flow Advisors as a Senior Partner. He is involved in developing business strategies for leading telecommunications and data center companies worldwide. With a pragmatic approach and in-depth industry knowledge, Martin has become a trusted advisor for publicly...

Brenden Rawle is the Senior Director for Business Development with Equinix, where he also sits on the EMEA leadership team helping to build, drive and execute regional strategy. Equinix is the world’s leading data centre, infrastructure and platform company, helping organisations across all sectors ...

As Chief Business Development and Strategy Officer, Davin Rice leads Zayo Europe’s corporate development and business development functions, driving long-term partnerships, investment strategies, and market expansion initiatives that reinforce Zayo Europe’s position as a pan-European connectivity...

Jaime is an Operating Director at I Squared Capital in London, specializing in digital infrastructure. He supports portfolio companies like EXA and nLighten, focusing on AI infrastructure, data center connectivity, and edge data centers. With over 20 years of experience at firms like...

I am Co-Chair of the ESCA NextGen Subgroup and will be presenting a bit about these initiatives and engagements and how you can get involved towards the end of day one of Submarine Networks EMEA 2026. In my day to day, I am Project Engineer at Red Penguin Marine, a multi-disciplinary marine...

Thorvardur has held several key positions in the Icelandic telecoms market.  Prior to joining Farice as CEO in May 2020 he held executive positions at Vodafone Iceland including COO and CCO for enterprise and development.   Before joining Vodafone ,Thorvardur was head of group development and...

Marc Tachelet is the Director of the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) since 1 April 2026.He joined the European Commission in 1998, working in the Directorate-General for Information Society (now Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology) on the...

Diego Teot is a senior executive with over two decades of experience in the global telecommunications industry.He began his career working on early streaming and Internet connectivity solutions in the Mediterranean region before joining Retelit in 2003.Today, as Head of OTT, Media & Telco, he...

Torsten Thiele is an international expert in ocean finance, drawing on over 25 years experience in project and infrastructure finance with leading financial institutions and a decade of ocean research and practice. As Senior Advisor, Blue Finance, Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance he...

John Tibbles is a UK based consultant and also Exceutive Director Operations of the Sub Optic Foundation . Prior to retirement  after 30 years in the industry John was responsible for large scale global network developments  involving major projects in all regions of the world and was involved ats...

With 15+ years of experience in the undersea telecommunications industry, Gavin Tully's career has encompassed all types of subsea fiber optic systems ranging from commercial to oil & gas networks. With a background and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Gavin has used his...

Valentin Velichkov is CEO of Vestitel since 2017. He has previously served as CFO of the company for the previous 3 years. Valentin is also a Board Member in the Bulgarian Society for Electronic Communications.In his career he has held various management positions from Chief Accountant, CFO and CEO ...

Colin is the General Manager of Cloud Network Engineering for Azure Fiber at Microsoft. In this role, Colin leads the expansion and enablement of Hollow Core Fiber (HCF) technology, focusing on making HCF scalable and deployable at scale. Previously, Colin served as Vice President for Hyperscaler...

Alasdair joined the STC (now ASN) in 1985 having left Newcastle University with a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Whilst at STC he worked on UK-Belgium 5, the first international optical submarine cable and subsequently numerous other submarine systems, mainly in the marine...

Peng Yan is Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Axent, a neutral digital infrastructure operator specialized in high-capacity fiber connectivity for data centers and mission-critical digital platforms. In his role, he leads Axent’s commercial strategy, partnerships, and market expansion, supporting...

Gwenn Amice is Subject Matter Expert at EXFO, where he specializes in optical networks and transmission. With 30+ years of experience from R&D to field, he is a trusted advisor in his domain, working closely with system manufacturer, network operators and hyperscalers.Since 2019, Gwenn has also ...

      After graduating from Kristiania University with a First Class Honours in Computer Science, Erling joined the Lillehammer Winter Olympic Games in 1990 as a Project Controller and DBA, as well as the Norwegian Home Guard, before moving to Atea Norway as a Department Head in their Microsoft...

With a career spanning over two decades, Naaz Bax is a seasoned leader in the submarine cable and telecommunications industries, holding pivotal roles across operations, marketing, strategic partnerships, and executive leadership. Her work has consistently focused on driving visibility, building...

Erik-Jan Bos works for NORDUnet, the Nordic regional R&E Network serving the National R&E Networks in Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Iceland. His role at NORDUnet is "Senior Advisor". At NORDUnet, he spent most of his time working on developing and de-risking the Polar...

Matt Bowden – Director of Operations at Red Penguin Marine. Matt is Director of Operations at Red Penguin Marine, providing support and strategic guidance to the global submarine cable sector. The company assists clients in managing risk across all stages of submarine interconnectors, offshore...

Business Development specialist with 25 years' experience in the international telecoms industry across a number of Strategy, Finance and Sales-supporting roles.  Joining Colt in 2012, Steve has managed the Network Expansion function for a number of regions across Europe and North...

Kent Bressie is Partner and Head of International Practice with the law firm HWG LLP in Washington DC and the Legal Adviser to the International Cable Protection Committee (ICPC), the world’s leading nongovernmental organization dedicated to submarine cable protection and resilience.  Kent has...

Horst is managing director and co-founder of Oceanic Environmental Cables GmbH.He has a very practical experience of over 35 years of building, running and growing companies based on a reliable and proven value approach for customers, employees and investors. Based on his experience as a serial...

Eckhard Bruckschen is the CEO/Owner of IOEMA Fibre Ltd., a company planning to construct a submarine fibre optic network in the Southern North Sea, connecting the continent with the Nordics. Eckhard is also a Director of Undersea Cable Consultancy Limited, offering his expertise and knowledge of...

Dr Butchart is an independent academic and advisor specialising in critical subsea infrastructure, national security, maritime, and international relations. She retired from the British Government in April 2025, after 18 years in both the civil and diplomatic services leading security policy...

Professional positions ·       Board Member at the Portuguese regulatory authority for postal, communications and electronic communications (Autoridade Nacional de Comunicações - ANACOM), since May 2023    ·       Former Senior consultant at the Competence Centre for Planning, Policy and...

Graduated in 1993 with a MBA obtained in Lyon School of Managment, Laurent Campagne has more than 30 years of experience in industrial area mainly in project management and commercial activities. In particular, he has worked more than 15 years in Submarine Cables industry with a specific experience ...

Louis Carver is a seasoned professional in the telecommunications industry with over 30 years of experience. Currently serving as the Chief Commercial Officer at Medusa Submarine Cable System, Louis is responsible for driving the company's commercial strategy and overseeing all aspects of...

Mr. Christopher Case is the senior intelligence analyst for Hybrid Threats assessments at NATO’s Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE). He is a career intelligence officer with over twenty years’ experience in strategic, operational, and tactic analysis. Mr. Case served in the US Army...

Dr Franck Chevalier joined Analysys Mason in 2005 and currently holds the position of Head of Technical Consulting.  Franck has 25 years of experience in the Telecommunications industry, spanning pre-sales, research and consulting. Franck recently supported the European Expert Group (experts from...

In 35 years since completing his master’s degrees in physics and telecommunication (complemented with an MBA degree), Bertrand Clesca has worked for three long-haul optical transport/system equipment suppliers (Alcatel, Corvis and Xtera) and one network consultancy prior to joining Pioneer...

She has in-depth knowledge and experience leading teams in innovative technological projects in the electronic communications industry and across several jurisdictions and regions, notably Europe and Africa. She has assisted various international organizations such as the International...

Hadleigh Coffey is the Senior Vice President of Product & Solution Engineering at FiberSense, where he leads strategic product and operational initiatives to expand the company’s advanced sensing solutions into global infrastructure markets. At FiberSense, Hadleigh combines deep industry...

Mike is co-chair of the international telecoms practice at global law firm DLA Piper LLP and the lead partner for digital infrastructure. He is rated in the "Hall of fame" by the Legal 500, signifying "lawyers at the very top of the profession, widely known and respected by peers and ...

Sylvain has been an investment banker for 30 years, specializing in M&A transactions, equity capital raising and financing both in France and internationally. He has advised on more than 100 transactions across a wide range of industries and services.Today, Sylvain focuses on sectors driving...

Stéphane Cugnon de Sévricourt is SVP of International Infrastructure at Orange. With over 20 years of experience spanning telecommunications, finance, and digital innovation, he is a true architect of connectivity and strategic growth. From designing cutting-edge networks to leading transformative...

Mike Cunningham is the founder and CEO of Crosslake Fibre and has over 20 years experience in the telecommunications and investment industries. Previously, Mr. Cunningham was on the board of Quintillion Subsea, and CEO of Arctic Fibre, the predecessor company to Quintillion. Mr. Cunningham began...

Dan has spent 30 years developing his expertise within the fibre optic industry, and the last 24 years focussed almost entirely on fibre sensing, covering applications such as Critical Undersea Infrastructure (CUI), Power Cable Monitoring, Pipeline Leak Detection and Security Dan has developed a...

Ciaran Delaney is EXA Infrastructure’s Chief Operating Officer. He’s responsible for leading Exa Infrastructure’s Network Operations, Engineering, Delivery, Customer Assurance, Vendor and Strategic Program Management teams. Prior to EXA Infrastructure, Ciaran lead GTT’s Optical Engineering and...

Didier Dillard is a senior telecommunications executive with most of his career spent at the Orange Group (formerly France Telecom) and several years at Sprint. He began in submarine cable operations, rising to Director of Marine Operations before moving into senior marketing, commercial, and...

Wilfried Dudink is responsible for Strategic Initiatives that seed future business, such as Edge Computing, Internet Peering, and Subsea Cables. Furthermore, business development with selected Strategic Accounts in the Connectivity segment, and Market Development, to strengthen the connectivity...

Philippe Dumont is a member of ‘2020 Capacity Power 100’ an elite group of the most influential people of the wholesale carrier community. He is a CEO with over 25 years of international experience in the Telecoms industry. His strong leadership style is supplemented with an entrepreneurial...

Rob has built an impressive career spanning over 15 years in the insurance industry, with a deep and diverse range of experience. He began his career in marine claims, where he gained a thorough understanding of the foundational principles of insurance, particularly how insurance contracts are...

Mark is the Founder and CEO of FiberSense. He is a multi-award-winning technology entrepreneur with a 30-year track record of founding deep tech startups in the ICT sectors of fiber telecommunications, sensing, cloud, and infrastructure. He is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company...

Darwin Evans is the Senior Director of Product Line Management for submarine applications at Ciena. In this role, he is responsible for creating the roadmap for Ciena’s modem and photonic submarine solutions. Prior to joining Ciena, Darwin worked in several engineering and product development...

With over 20 years in the telecommunications industry, Mattias Fridström can be considered a veteran – but his enthusiasm hasn’t faded. Mattias combines expert knowledge with anecdotes from behind the scenes and deep insight into the networked economy: What are the challenges of tomorrow for...

An infuencial telecoms professional with a wealth of experience in the development of network infrastructure, as wel as an in-depth understanding of the regional market conditions and regulatory issues that shape the subsea industry. Following more than 20 years in various roles in wholesale...

Peter Jamieson is the Current Vice-Chair, and former Chair, of the European Subsea Cables Association. Peter is the Principal Engineer for Subsea and Core Fibre at Virgin Media O2 where he manages all aspects of subsea cable infrastructure. Peter is member of the ITU Advisory Body on Submarine...

Hervé Jost is Director, Infrastructure Business Development and Eurotunnel concession at Colt Technology Services (Colt). His extended team has end-to-end responsibility for Business Development opportunities of Colt Infrastructure (including Subsea) as well as the delivery of Eurotunnel solutions...

Antti Kankkunen has more than thirty years of experience in the communications industry. He has held senior positions with responsibilities covering product planning, product strategy, technology strategy, business development, product line management, product development, and sales engineering. He ...

Pat has overall responsibility for Analysys Mason’s business in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. He is an experienced telecoms adviser who has worked extensively in the design, implementation and project management of fixed, wireless and sub-sea telecoms systems. Working for major...

Grace Koh is Vice President for Government Relations at Ciena, the world’s leading developer of optical networking equipment. Ms. Koh comes to Ciena with significant experience in government. She held the title of U.S. Ambassador, while serving as the U.S. Representative and Head of Delegation to...

Gretchen E. Krantz Evans is the U.S. Trade and Development Agency Country Manager for the Middle East and North Africa.  Ms. Krantz Evans is responsible for business development, project preparation and evaluation, and supervision of USTDA activities in the region.  She is a member of USTDA’s...

Dave LaPommeray serves as Senior Legal Counsel at IT International Telecom Inc., a Canadian-based technical consulting and installation company that provides a comprehensive set of services in the subsea cable industry, including turnkey design, installation and maintenance of marine cable...

Captain Niels Markussen graduated from the Royal Danish Naval Academy in 1990. He received his first command the same year, as commander of a patrol vessel operating in Danish waters and in the Baltic Sea. Most of his career he has spent at sea and he has had a total of five periods as commanding...

Sandra Maximiano, Chairwoman of ANACOM's Board of Directors since 15 December 2023, and Co-Chair of the ITU Advisory Body on Submarine Cable resilience, holds a PhD in Economics from the University of Amsterdam. She is an Associate Professor of Economics at ISEG - School of Economics &...

Sarah McComb is a Principal Network Business Developer with Amazon Web Services responsible for strategic subsea investments across the Pacific and global subsea regulatory engagements. With over 20 years’ experience in network acquisition and planning, Sarah has been with AWS for over 7 years and...

Oscar Monteagudo serves as the Carrier Sales & Sub-sea Business Development Director at Vodafone Business. In this capacity, he leads global engagement with carrier customers and spearheads the development and strategic expansion of new sub-sea cable systems, advancing worldwide connectivity...

Diana Montero Melis is Deputy Head of Unit at the European Commission, working on international partnerships with Latin America and the Caribbean. She focuses on strengthening cooperation between the European Union and partner regions, including on digital connectivity and infrastructure. Her work...

Vinay Nagpal is an industry leader and visionary with global experience developing products and solutions in wholesale and retail colocation data centers with a strong focus on subsea and terrestrial fiber connectivity. Currently, he is the CEO of IG Group, LLC. | InterGlobix, LLC., a global...

Richard Norris is Senior Director of Global Submarine System Engineering at Ciena with responsibility for submarine solution technical sales and development. He’s been in the telecom industry for over 30 years working for both vendors and operators. He was first involved in submarine networking in...

With over 20 years of experience at the intersection of technology and strategy, Michalis Oikonomakos is a seasoned Telecoms and Infrastructure Executive specializing in IP networks, interconnection, and wholesale services across Europe. Known for bridging deep technical expertise with commercial...

Andy Palmer-Felgate is responsible for marine engineering and route planning of submarine cable systems at Meta and serves as Vice President of the North America Submarine Cable Association.  Andy is also a Director and Executive Committee member of the International Submarine Cable Protection...

Isabelle is President and Founder of HOT TELECOM, one of the most innovative and creative telecom research and consulting companies in the industry. HOT TELECOM has been supporting operators and vendors on a global basis for over 20 years, more particularly on the subjects of International and...

Working in the Telecom business since graduation in Engenharia Electrotécnica e de Computadores by IST Lisbon in 1992. Worked at Telecom Portugal, Philips Portuguesa and in 1996 joined Maxitel which was one of the very first private TELCO in the then recently liberalized Portuguese Market. Most...

Martin Prins is associated with The Flow Advisors as a Senior Partner. He is involved in developing business strategies for leading telecommunications and data center companies worldwide. With a pragmatic approach and in-depth industry knowledge, Martin has become a trusted advisor for publicly...

Brenden Rawle is the Senior Director for Business Development with Equinix, where he also sits on the EMEA leadership team helping to build, drive and execute regional strategy. Equinix is the world’s leading data centre, infrastructure and platform company, helping organisations across all sectors ...

As Chief Business Development and Strategy Officer, Davin Rice leads Zayo Europe’s corporate development and business development functions, driving long-term partnerships, investment strategies, and market expansion initiatives that reinforce Zayo Europe’s position as a pan-European connectivity...

Jaime is an Operating Director at I Squared Capital in London, specializing in digital infrastructure. He supports portfolio companies like EXA and nLighten, focusing on AI infrastructure, data center connectivity, and edge data centers. With over 20 years of experience at firms like...

I am Co-Chair of the ESCA NextGen Subgroup and will be presenting a bit about these initiatives and engagements and how you can get involved towards the end of day one of Submarine Networks EMEA 2026. In my day to day, I am Project Engineer at Red Penguin Marine, a multi-disciplinary marine...

Thorvardur has held several key positions in the Icelandic telecoms market.  Prior to joining Farice as CEO in May 2020 he held executive positions at Vodafone Iceland including COO and CCO for enterprise and development.   Before joining Vodafone ,Thorvardur was head of group development and...

Marc Tachelet is the Director of the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA) since 1 April 2026.He joined the European Commission in 1998, working in the Directorate-General for Information Society (now Directorate-General for Communications Networks, Content and Technology) on the...

Diego Teot is a senior executive with over two decades of experience in the global telecommunications industry.He began his career working on early streaming and Internet connectivity solutions in the Mediterranean region before joining Retelit in 2003.Today, as Head of OTT, Media & Telco, he...

Torsten Thiele is an international expert in ocean finance, drawing on over 25 years experience in project and infrastructure finance with leading financial institutions and a decade of ocean research and practice. As Senior Advisor, Blue Finance, Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance he...

John Tibbles is a UK based consultant and also Exceutive Director Operations of the Sub Optic Foundation . Prior to retirement  after 30 years in the industry John was responsible for large scale global network developments  involving major projects in all regions of the world and was involved ats...

With 15+ years of experience in the undersea telecommunications industry, Gavin Tully's career has encompassed all types of subsea fiber optic systems ranging from commercial to oil & gas networks. With a background and Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Gavin has used his...

Valentin Velichkov is CEO of Vestitel since 2017. He has previously served as CFO of the company for the previous 3 years. Valentin is also a Board Member in the Bulgarian Society for Electronic Communications.In his career he has held various management positions from Chief Accountant, CFO and CEO ...

Colin is the General Manager of Cloud Network Engineering for Azure Fiber at Microsoft. In this role, Colin leads the expansion and enablement of Hollow Core Fiber (HCF) technology, focusing on making HCF scalable and deployable at scale. Previously, Colin served as Vice President for Hyperscaler...

Alasdair joined the STC (now ASN) in 1985 having left Newcastle University with a degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering. Whilst at STC he worked on UK-Belgium 5, the first international optical submarine cable and subsequently numerous other submarine systems, mainly in the marine...

Peng Yan is Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) at Axent, a neutral digital infrastructure operator specialized in high-capacity fiber connectivity for data centers and mission-critical digital platforms. In his role, he leads Axent’s commercial strategy, partnerships, and market expansion, supporting...