30th-31st JANUARY 2013 HILTON LONDON TOWER BRIDGE HOTEL

30th -31st JANUARY 2013
HILTON LONDON TOWER BRIDGE HOTEL
HOSTED BY:
SPONSORED BY:
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6 Programme
8 Awards Shortlist
9 Sponsors
13 Speakers
TELECOMFINANCE WOULD LIKE TO EXTEND A
WARM WELCOME TO ALL DELEGATES, SPEAKERS
AND SPONSORS ATTENDING OUR EIGHTH ANNUAL
TELECOMFINANCE CONFERENCE IN LONDON
We’d like to welcome all of our
delegates, speakers and sponsors to
the TelecomFinance 2013 Conference,
two days of networking, learning
and debating with peers in the global
telecoms and technology industry.
2012 was another tough year, marked
however by a necessary admission by
telecoms operators that soaring debt
levels and continued falling revenue
required tough decisions like selling hard
won assets, overhauling infrastructurefocused business models and partnering
with rivals.
Bright spots in the sector include cable,
which already boasts FTTH, towercos,
whose innovative business model has
proven to be both efficient and financially
beneficial, and data centres, thanks to
revenues that increase in tandem with
data traffic.
We are looking forward to hearing
different views from you all on how the
telecoms operator of the future will look.
Will it compete on the basis of brand
rather than network, or will investors
demand a safer utility approach?
Enjoy the conference.
This year, European operators especially
will try to convince regulators to favour
vital investment in new networks over
competition, and perhaps consider radical
moves such as shared international
and intra-national networks – spurring
smaller players to warn of a return to the
monopoly model.
Claire Landon
Conference Editor,
TelecomFinance
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Ben Bschor
Editor,
TelecomFinance
3
supporters
media partners
supporters
ECTA, the European Competitive
Telecommunications Association, is a non-forprofit European telecoms association established
to support the regulatory and commercial
media partners
interests of over 100 pro-competitive telecoms
operators including leading alternative fixed
broadband and triple-play providers, panEuropean business service providers and
challenger mobile operators. We work for a
fair regulatory environment which allows all
electronic communications providers to compete
on level terms in order to multiply investment
and innovation throughout an effective European
internal market.
For further information visit: www.ectaportal.com
Unlike any other service of its kind, mergermarket
specializes in providing forward-looking origination
and deal flow opportunities integrated with a
comprehensive deals database – resulting in real
revenues for clients.
For more information visit:
www.mergermarket.com
Mergermarket is an independent mergers and
acquisitions (M&A) intelligence service with an
unrivalled network of dedicated M&A journalists
based in 56 locations across the Americas, Europe,
Asia-Pacific, the Middle-East and Africa.
Signals Telecom News is part of Signals Telecom
Group (STG) a multinational technology consulting,
advisory and media firm specializing in the Latin
American and Caribbean telecommunications and
technology sectors.
Members of the DEALGATE community can post
mandates or ideas anonymously, allowing for
absolute discretion, and they can even target which
groups within the network can see their postings.
One of the DEALGATE members might have access
to a potential target or buyer beyond your research
or network.
DEALGATE is the global deal matching platform,
providing a closed and secure environment where
M&A advisors, investors, and corporate M&A
departments from all over the world can exchange
buying and selling opportunities of enterprises.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.dealgate.com
companies in the broader mobile ecosystem,
including handset makers, software companies,
equipment providers and internet companies, as
well as organisations in industry sectors such as
financial services, healthcare, media, transport and
utilities. The GSMA also produces industry-leading
events such as the Mobile World Congress and
Mobile Asia Expo.
The GSMA represents the interests of mobile
operators worldwide. Spanning more than 220
countries, the GSMA unites nearly 800 of the
world’s mobile operators with more than 230
For further information visit:
www.signalstelecomnews.com
For more information, please visit:
http://www.gsma.com
TelecomWatch products provide online & offline
timely & accurate info / data on vital happenings,
latest tariffs & valid tenders through:
TelecomWatch endeavors to provide Fixedline,
CDMA ( Mobile), GSM & Average Revenue Per
User figs immediately on their release. Its products
have proved to be excellent vehicles for “Online
Advertising”.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.telecomwatch.in
social media partner
TelcoProfessionals is an interactive, content rich,
blog- and video-centric online community and
business exchange developed exclusively for the
Telecom and Media industry. We are dedicated to
individuals working in the industry globally, as a
place they can find and help each other get ahead.
4
TelecomWatch-news flash
TelecomWatch-tariff databank
TelecomWatch-info bank
TelecomWatch-ad flash
TelcoProfessionals.com includes area specific
Microsites with their own daily newsfeeds and
content, a full Telecom & Media events listing,
blogs, informal video’s of the people shaping the
industry’s future, and forums. The site allows you
to network directly with like-minded professionals
from over 191 countries. We have more than 14000
members.
To enhance your professional profile and network
for future business opportunities, or to visit our
jobs portal, join us today on:
www.telcoprofessionals.com.
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wednesday
30th January 2013
08:00 - 09:00
Registration and Networking Breakfast
09:00 - 09:10
Official opening
Ben Bschor, Editor, TelecomFinance
09:10 - 09:30
Keynote address
Richard Hunter, Group MD, Fitch Ratings
09:30 - 10:40
M&A: Show me the money
Where are transactions to be found in 2013?
Comprising advisers and executives, this
panel will look at the changing face of M&A
in light of challenging economic and industry
conditions.
thursday
31st January 2013
Management Limited
David Stewart, Competition Policy Director,
Ofcom
Nina Triantis, Global Head of Telecoms &
Media at Standard Bank
MODERATOR: Natasha Good, Partner,
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
Speakers:
Roland Haidner, Head of M&A, Telekom
Austria
Philipp Meier-Scherling, Head of Telecoms –
EMEA, Deutsche Bank
Andrea Salvato, Head of M&A, Liberty Global
Michele Piergiovanni, European Commission
TMT M&A Case Manager
10:40
11.15 - 12:15
13:10 - 14:15
Lunch, sponsored by SNR Denton
14:15 - 14:45
Q&A with Amit Nagpal, Partner, Aetha
Consulting. “The trials and tribulations
of LTE auctions – but what can we
learn?”. Interviewer Ben Bschor, Editor,
TelecomFinance
14:45 - 15:15
SPECIAL PRESENTATION by Liana Dinghile,
Group Strategy Director EMEA, Siegel+Gale
‘Simple is Smart’
15:15 - 15:30
Networking Break
15:30 - 16:30
The investors’ view
Is the telecom sector still a safe haven?
What can companies do to become more
attractive?
MODERATOR: Andrew Doyle, Director,
Technology & Communications Consulting,
Mott MacDonald
Speakers:
Karim Nasr, CEO, Digital World Capital LLP
Gabriele Cipparrone, Partner, Tech &
Telecoms, Apax Partners
Robin Bienenstock, Senior Analyst,
European Telecoms, Sanford C Bernstein
Networking Break
Is fixed-line now king?
If even the newest, shiniest 4G networks
are unable to handle skyrocketing demand
for data, what does this mean for mobileonly players? How can fixed-line ensure its
dominance?
16:30 - 17:30
Speakers
Nuno Machado, Managing Director, Media &
Communications, Morgan Stanley
Daniel Gurrola, Group Strategy and Business
Development, Orange France Telecom
Vincent Le Stradic, Head of EMEA Technology
& Telecoms, Lazard Bank
Fernando Faria, Director of Marketing, GSMA
Benoit Tanguy, MD and co-Head of TMT
Finance, Societe Generale
12:15 - 13:10
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MODERATOR: Ed Ansell, Editor
SatelliteFinance, Chief Editor Finance
Publications, Press Association
Speakers:
Francois Artignan, Head of Media & Telecom
Finance (Europe & Asia), BNP Paribas
Christian Lesueur, MD and Head of EMEA
Media & Telecoms Investment Banking, UBS
Terry Rhodes, co-Founder and Director,
Eaton Towers
Nick Flitterman, Founder and Head of
Telecoms, Portland Advisers
Mark Atkins, Deputy Director, Credit Risk
Management, Huawei
Regulation – the next generation
As European telcos grapple with
worsening economy coupled with the
need for investment in new networks,
will the authorities soften their stance on
consolidation? Impact of new spectrum
auctions.
MODERATOR: Jan Willem van den Bos,
Partner, Telecoms, SNR Denton
Speakers:
Luigi Gambardella, Chairman of the
Board, ETNO; and Vice President, Public &
Regulatory Affairs, Telecom Italia
Peter Stephens, Partner and Global Head
for Telecoms & Media Investments, Virgin
Finance panel
Falling margins, an opening and closing
debt window, and unsustainable debt levels
are driving an unprecedented reshuffle in
telecoms, while rules governing the financial
services sector are tightening. What
mechanisms remain open to telcos?
17:30
18:00 - 20:00
08:00 - 09:00
BREAKFAST SEMINAR led by David
Tanner, Director of Technology & Strategy,
Technology & Communications Consulting
Practice, Mott MacDonald
Smart phones and dumb pipes – what does
the future look like for European operators?
09:00 - 09:15
Opening remarks
Ben Bschor, Editor, TelecomFinance
09:15 - 10:15
Partnerships as an alternative to M&A
Telcos are increasingly inking domestic,
regional and global partnerships in order to
reduce costs. Does this signal an end to big
dealmaking, or pave the way for larger deals
once conditions improve? Is there a role for
advisers?
12:15 - 12:45
SPECIAL PRESENTATION by Nick
Elverston, Head of TMT, Herbert Smith
Freehills:
‘Telecoms in a troubled world’
12:45 - 13:00
Q&A with Douglas Loewe, Managing
Director, Interxion “The role of data
centres in the digital economy”
13:00 - 13:30
Fireside Chat: Innovations in Telecoms
Telcos, payment processors, technology
enablers and banks are all trying to get
in on the action – who will prevail, or will
they work together to create a seamless
ecosystem?
Speakers:
Michael Rolphe, Director, Anthemis Group
Kevin Harrington, Managing Director, Gx
MODERATOR: Claire Landon, TelecomFinance
Conference Editor
13:30 - 15:30
Closing remarks & lunch
Speakers:
Daniel Ritz, Chief Strategy Officer, Etisalat
Kadir Boysan, Chief Strategy Officer, Turk
Telekom Group, Avea
Romeo Ganescu, Group Director of Products
and Partnerships, Vimpelcom
Viktor Kovacs, Founder and Chief Commercial
Officer, Neostratus
10:15 - 10:45
SPECIAL PRESENTATION by Jeff Eldredge,
Partner, Vinson & Elkins:
‘From managed services to sale-andleaseback – which tower transaction structure
is best?’
10:45 - 11:10
Networking break
11:15 - 12:15
The infrastructure-less company
Telecoms operators have increasingly become
convinced that sole ownership of networks and
towers is no longer necessary, but how will
these companies look and on what basis will
they compete?
Speakers:
Mark De Simone, CEO, Cloud Italia
Andres de Orleans Borbon, CFO, Helios Towers
Africa
Liana Dinghile, Group Strategy Director EMEA,
Siegel+Gale
Enda Hardiman, Managing Partner, Hardiman
Telecommunications
Marie-Laure Mazaud, Global Head of Project
Finance & Credit, Alcatel-Lucent
End of Day One and Drinks Reception
Networking reception and
TelecomFinance2013 Awards Ceremony
Programme subject to changes
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The TelecomFinance Awards celebrate the leading M&A, debt and ECM transactions and dealmakers of
2012. The winners will be announced at our annual Awards Ceremony, hosted by BBC presenter Simon
McCoy, on the evening of Wednesday 30th January.
day 2 breakfast & seminar sponsor
Access to expert advice is essential. Our clients are always
looking for the next opportunity – be it an acquisition,
strategic investment or a sale. Mott MacDonald’s
consultants combine deep commercial knowledge of
telecoms markets with a pragmatic understanding of the
key technologies, costs and operations.
Banks of the Year categories are judged on a purely quantitative basis, while Deals of the Year are judged
by an independent panel from shortlists compiled by the TelecomFinance editorial team.
EUROPE DEAL OF THE
YEAR SHORTLIST
America Movil’s acquisition of minority
stakes in KPN and Telekom Austria
Carlos Slim’s flashy double-debut on the
European stage, dipping his toe into a
market too cheap to ignore
Vodafone’s £1bn acquisition of
Cable & Wireless Worldwide
Largely a tax efficient move, but
also a great example of in-country
consolidation and fixed/mobile
convergence (and a hotly contested
takeover fight).
Apax £1.6bn acquisition of Orange
Switzerland from France Telecom
Yet another private equity takeover
of a Swiss telecoms asset as players
position themselves for an expected
relaxation of competition rules. Also
accompanied by a complex financing
scheme.
Ono’s £1.4bn refinancing
Overcoming major hurdles in the
Spanish economy and downgrades
across the domestic financial services
sector, ONO implemented a major
refinancing and subsequent US$310m
senior secured note issue, thus pushing
back maturities until 2017.
American Tower £393m acquisition of
KPN’s E-Plus towers in Germany
Another Americas heavyweight,
previously most active in Latin America
and Africa, made its first move into
Europe, taking advantage of poor
market conditions.
MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA
DEAL OF THE YEAR
SHORTLIST
QTel increase of shareholding in
Asiacell from 30% to 60% for US$1.47bn
QTel once again consolidatied its
ownership of an overseas asset, this
time of its highest earning properties
(and the first of Iraq’s three telcos to
make good on its promise to list a 25%
stake on the national exchange)
France Telecom increase of its
shareholding in Mobinil from
71% to 94% for €1.5bn
The end to a long running shareholder
feud, an opportunity for France Telecom
to consolidate its stated plans to double
revenue in emerging markets, and a
significant addition to the warchest of
another acquisitive Naguib Sawiris
vehicle.
Mobily US$2.7bn Islamic loan
This oversubscribed transaction
enabled Etisalat’s Saudi business to
refinance three loans on beneficial
terms and boost its broadband and data
capabilities.
IHS US$284m acquisition of MTN’s
Uganda and Cameroon towers, financed
via a US$202m syndicated credit facility
with MLA Ecobank
Thanks to this twin deal with Africa’s
leading homegrown telco, IHS came out
top of the continent’s main towercos in
2012
Global IPO of
the Year
Telefonica O2 Deutschland €1.45bn IPO of
a 23% stake
A meaningful move towards reducing
Telefonica’s high debt levels, boding
well for the company’s expected Latin
American partial listing.
Ziggo US$1.2bn IPO
Strong IPO by a European cableco,
following KDG’s lead in breaking the
sector’s secondary buyout cycle. First
European telecoms listing in a year.
Bharti Infratel US$763m IPO
India’s largest telecoms listing in years,
particularly strong considering recent
auction scandal and doubts over
transparency of rules for foreign telco
owners
Mott MacDonald’s Technology and Communications
team provides commercial and technical due diligence,
technical strategy, business planning and market analysis
to financial institutions, telecoms operators, equipment
vendors, governments and regulators operating in the
global telecoms sector.
In addition to our strategic advisory services, we also
provide end-to-end management of major technology
implementations – be that a mobile network or a major
technology upgrades for non-telecom clients. We
are an independent, international, multi-disciplinary
consultancy with a strong technology, engineering and
financial background.
With more than a century of experience and annual
revenues of £1 billion, we combine the skills of 14,000
staff with a strong presence in 140 countries.
We assist clients to:
- Undertake mergers, acquisitions and strategic
investments
- Manage risks around project and infrastructure
development finance
- Complete strategic investments, privatisations, IPOs
and asset disposals
- Acquire new licences, and manage regulatory
processes
For further information visit: www.mottmac.com
presentation sponsor
MegaFon US$1.7bn IPO of a 15.2% stake
Largest telecoms IPO of 2012, following
a peace agreement and reshuffling
among leading shareholders AF
Telecom, Altimo and TeliaSonera.
Siegel+Gale is a global strategy, design and brand
experience company.
KCell US$525m IPO of a 25% stake
Attracted a broad variety of domestic,
regional and international investors
despite coinciding with the higher
visibility MegaFon IPO
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day1 lunch sponsor
approach each market is a technique in itself. We have
mastered this technique and made it our business
to sell global expertise in local knowledge. It means
clients can trust us to help them resolve their most
complex business problems – faster, more efficiently,
sustainably and cost-effectively.
SNR Denton is a global leader in providing legal
services and is recognised for its deep industry
knowledge and experience. We have always been at
the sharp end of change and innovation – ever since our
origins in 1742.
In November 2012, SNR Denton announced its
combination with two other exceptional firms: Salans,
one of Europe’s leading firms with some 750 lawyers in
20 offices, principally throughout Central, Eastern and
Western Europe; and Fraser Milner Casgrain (FMC),
a premier Canadian firm with some 520 lawyers and
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operate worldwide under the name “Dentons” across
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so that we can continue offering clients seamless
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For us, it is not about just having ‘flags on the map’.
We understand that being global is actually all about
understanding local differences. Knowing how to
Our dedicated global Telecom Group consists of
genuine specialists – several of whom have worked
in-house at UK regulator Ofcom, the European
Commission, Batelco Bahrain, Standard Chartered
Bank and Motorola. Understanding how to bridge
industry, technology and geopolitics, we support
clients – from network operators and service providers
to investors, governments and regulators – at all stages
of the telecoms supply chain, offering five distinctive
services types:
- regulatory and public policy
- commercial and transactional
- banking and finance
- corporate and M&A
- dispute resolution and investigations.
For more information, please visit:
www.snrdentoncom
Our TMT Group
Our telecoms, media and technology (TMT) sector
group is widely recognised for the breadth and
depth of its expertise and is one of the leading
and most active groups in its field. Across our
practice groups and offices, the TMT sector
group exchanges industry-specific expertise and
promotes a broader understanding of the issues
affecting our TMT clients.
We are able to provide our TMT clients with
integrated multi jurisdictional teams comprising
specialists in the sector – many of whom are
leaders in their fields. Their sector knowledge and
insight, together with an international overview,
has enabled our firm to be at the cutting edge of
law, exceptionally commercial in outlook, and to
‘go the extra mile’ for our clients. As a result, we
have worked on many of the largest and most
groundbreaking deals in the TMT sector and count
many of the sector’s leading companies as clients.
The group’s key strength lies in the combination
of transactional experience and sector-specific
know how, particularly in the areas of regulation,
corporate law, antitrust law, IT, e-commerce,
finance and tax. All members are committed to
keeping up with the latest commercial, technical
and economical developments in these markets
to be able to understand our clients’ needs and to
add real benefit.
Our recent telecoms experience includes advising:
panel sponsor
• Ziggo, the largest Dutch cable operator, on its
global offering & listing on NYSE Euronext in
Amsterdam, acting as their lead Dutch, US and UK
counsel
• Liberty Global on its EUR 3.16 billion acquisition
of Kabel BW, Germany’s third largest cable
operator which is controlled by the private equity
firm EQT
Freshfields is a commercially savvy, innovative
law firm that helps clients navigate their most
complex business issues.
It has over 2,500 lawyers in 28 offices around the
world and works with a network of trusted local
law firms.
It was the official legal services provider to the
London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games,
working on legal issues to deliver the world’s
largest peacetime events.
In 2012 the firm expanded its Asia focus with a
new office in Singapore.
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Main Areas of Practice:
• Antitrust, Competition & Trade
• Corporate
• Disputes
• Employment, Pensions & Benefits
• Finance
• Intellectual Property & Information Technology
• Real Estate
• Tax
• Hutchison 3G Holdings Austria GmbH on
the acquisition of Orange Austria group for
approximately EUR 1.3 billion
• Hutchison 3G UK on its 3G network sharing
venture with T-Mobile in the UK
• MTN Group on the disposal of tower
infrastructure and on joint ventures with American
Tower Corporation in Uganda and Ghana
• STC on its acquisition of a 25 per cent stake in
Maxis Communications Bhd and on its US$2.56
billion acquisition of 35 per cent of Oger Telecom
• Vodafone D2 regarding the constitutional
complaint against preliminary court decision on
mobile termination rates 2011/2012
• Deutsche Telekom AG on various legal matters
worldwide
• Mach S.a.r.l., the largest roaming services
provider on the acquisition of Germany based
Optel Informatik GmbH
• China Unicom on its US$6.42 billion disposal of
their CDMA business to China Telecom and on its
US$23 billion merger with China Netcom
• British Telecom (BT) on the sale of shares in Tech
Mahindra Ltd, an IT provider listed on the National
Stock Exchange of India and the Bombay Stock
Exchange
• Vodafone Group Germany on a wide range of
network infrastructure and regulatory matters,
frequency (including 3G/4G licences), tariff and
access regulation
presentation sponsors
Vinson & Elkins is one of the oldest and largest
international law firms, with approximately 700
lawyers located in 16 offices around the world. The
firm has offices in Abu Dhabi, Austin, Beijing, Dallas,
Dubai, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Moscow, New
York, Palo Alto, Riyadh, San Francisco, Shanghai,
Tokyo and Washington, D.C.
From London, our lawyers represent a wide range
of clients on transactions, disputes and other
matters around the world. Areas of practice include:
mergers and acquisitions; joint ventures and other
strategic alliances; commercial contracts; corporate
and securities; project development and financing
(including telecoms, energy and other infrastructure
projects); banking; construction; tax; employment; and
litigation and arbitration.
Our Telecoms Group has extensive experience
of advising on specialist telecoms infrastructure
transactions and we are one of the few law firms with the
necessary expertise and international presence to advise
clients on such transactions. There has been significant
transactional activity in the telecoms infrastructure
sector in the last few years and our Telecoms Group has
advised a range of clients on numerous transactions in
both developed and emerging markets.
We have been particularly active in towers deals and
have outstanding expertise in the negotiation and
drafting of sale and purchase, master lease, build-to-suit,
site management and service level arrangements.
Speaker, Jeff Eldredge’s practice focuses on mergers and
acquisitions, project development, corporate finance and
capital markets transactions. He has over fifteen years’
experience advising on major telecoms transactions in
both Europe and Africa.
Ed Ansell Chief Editor, Finance Publications, Press Association
Ed Ansell is the chief editor of finance publications at the Press Association as well as the editor of Satellite Finance magazine.
During his time at the company he has also edited and managed specialist financial news publications on the global media and
telecommunications industries.
He joined the Press Association from Thompson Stanley Publishing where he was a senior reporter and senior
debt correspondent on the technology, media and telecoms sectors.
Prior to this, Ed worked in the city for HSBC specialising in employment tribunal settlements and
investigations. Graduating from Manchester University with a BA Hons in History and Economics, Ed has
previously worked as a freelance news journalist.
Mark Atkins Deputy Director, Credit Risk Control, Huawei
I have been with Huawei for 6 years now, having previously worked at Motorola Credit Corporation for
10 years as global head of their 3G financing and was previously the MCC regional director covering
EMEA. Prior to Motorola, I worked in project & trade financing in investment banking (London) for 21
years at CIBC Wood Gundy, Deutsche Bank / Morgan Grenfell and previously at Citicorp Investment
Bank, London for 10 years.
I have experience of structured financing across various industries including large ticket aircraft
financing, project financing, oil & gas, transport, energy and of course telecommunications.
For further information on the services we provide to the
telecoms industry please visit www.velaw.com
presentation sponsor
Francois Artignan Global Head of Media and Telecom Finance BNP Paribas CIB
Francois has run BNP Paribas’ Media & Telecom Finance team for the past 10 years, based in London and now
Paris. The team comprises 30 professionals based in London, Paris and Singapore who focus on delivering
investment banking solutions to corporations and financial sponsors, across a wide business range.
François comes with 16 years of experience in the Media and Telecom sector, and previously held several
positions in France and in the US as a relationship Manager.
As one of the world’s leading law firms, we advise
many of the biggest and most ambitious organisations
across all major regions of the globe. Our clients trust
us with their most important transactions, disputes
and projects because of our ability to cut through
complexity and mitigate risk. With 2,800 lawyers in
24 offices spanning Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle
East and the US, we can deliver whatever expertise
you need, wherever you need it.
Telecom Practice
We have a market leading international telecoms
practice that provides advice to the biggest industry
players on their most strategic, complex and high
profile telecoms matters across the globe.
We have a cross-disciplinary team of telecoms experts,
meaning our clients come to us for strategic advice in
relation to the full range of telecoms matters (including
commercial, corporate, regulatory, competition,
IP, dispute resolution and finance), rather than just
a single niche area. We believe our cross-practice
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approach makes a difference to the quality of advice we
can provide our clients.
Our telecom finance team regularly advise leading
banks, lessors, telecom operators, investors, equipment
suppliers, export credit agencies and governments on
the full spectrum of transactions and activities in the
telecom sector.
We are able to take a balanced view and adopt a
collaborative approach to resolving issues and
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We are well regarded for our high quality, commercially
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For more information, please visit:
http://www.herbertsmithfreehills.com
He began his career with the French Trade Commission in Beijing helping French midcaps developing their
trade in China. Later he worked as a consultant advising local governments in Europe on the establishment
of Science Parks, where he got introduced to the many challenges facing innovation and new technologies,
besides more political considerations about employment and real estate development.
He graduated from the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines de Paris in 1985.
Ben Bschor Editor, TelecomFinance
Ben Bschor is Editor of TelecomFinance.
Ben is an experienced journalist who has worked for radio, online and print publications in a number of
European countries.
Prior to joining TelecomFinance in 2011, Ben worked in Brussels and London as Competition & Regulatory
Correspondent for the Financial Times’ dealReporter.
Before taking on this role, he wrote about M&A activity in the TMT sector for Mergermarket. Been has an MA
in Media Studies and Modern History from Free University Berlin and Humboldt University Berlin.
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Robin Bienenstock Senior Analyst, European Telecoms, Sanford C Bernstein
Mark De Simone President, CloudItalia
Robin Bienenstock joined Sanford C Bernstein in 2007 where she is the Senior Analyst for European and Latin
American Telecommunications. She has been the #1 ranked European analyst (Extel) two years running, and
heads the #1 ranked team (Institutional Investor). Robin covers 13 European and Latin American stocks and is
known for taking a more activist approach to research than most analysts.
Mark started his career at Mc Kinsey, HP and Olivetti. He is appointed CEO of the Canadian subsidiary of
the Italian IT giant. He manages for five years the global division for advanced network services at General
Electric Medical Systems. Mark has a degree in Engineering from the Cornell University and an MBA from the
Columbia University. He is married and father of three children.
Prior to Sanford Bernstein, Robin was an Associate Principal at McKinsey where she served
telecommunications and retail clients for 5 years. She has also worked at an investment bank, did ad hoc
consulting on her own for three years (principally for telcos, while having two children), and ran a revolving
loan fund and a bus Company in Bosnia Hercegovina.
Robin has a BA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Oxford University, an MA in International Relations
from the University of Toronto and an MA in Management and International Economics from SDA Bocconi in
Milan. She speaks Italian and French and has forgotten most of her Serbo-Croat.
Kadir Boysan Chief Strategy Officer, AVEA Türk Telekom Group
Kadir Boysan joined Avea as the Chief Strategy Officer in September 2009. After graduating from Middle
East Technical University in Industrial Engineering, Mr. Boysan worked in Brand Management with Procter &
Gamble in 1994 and then worked for RJ Reynolds International as a Regional Brand manager.
Mr. Boysan started his consultancy career initially for Shell UK. He then worked as a management consultant
for Bain & Company, London from 2000-2007 both in strategy development and performance improvement.
His focus was primarily in telecommunication, retail and financial services. Prior to joining Avea, Mr. Boysan
was a Principal at MasterCard Advisors in London, providing strategic advice to both MasterCard Europe and
priority banking clients.
Mr. Boysan also holds Master degrees from Imperial College, London School of Economics in the UK and Yale
University in the USA
Since joining Avea, Kadir has provided the direction for Avea’s “Smart Growth” strategy, which has
successfully led to 20% share in a profitable way. In additon, he pioneered the partnership programme
at home and abroad – and now managing these busineses. In his capacity, Kadir is also responsible for
m-finance, m-health and other m-verticals to generate future revenue streams
Gabriele Cipparone Partner, Telecoms & Technology, Apax Partner
Gabriele Cipparrone is a Partner in the Tech & Telecom team.
Gabriele joined Apax Partners in 2003 and is based in London after having worked in the Milan office for
four years. He has participated in a number of key deals including Weather Investments, TDC, Sisal and
Farmafactoring. He serves as a board member of Sisal and Farmafactoring.
Prior to joining Apax Partners, Gabriele was a consultant with McKinsey & Company where he specialised in
advising clients in the telecom and utility sectors, and he also spent a brief period at Soros. Gabriele holds an
MBA from Harvard Business School, an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Politecnico di Torino and an MS in
Industrial Engineering from École Centrale de Paris.
Jan Willem van den Bos Partner and Telecom sector leader, SNR Denton
Jan Willem leads the telecoms team in the London office of SNR Denton and chairs the firm’s global Telecom
Group.
He supports a broad base of clients with legal strategic, policy, regulatory and transactional advice. Jan
Willem acts for national and international telcos, regulators, governments, banks and financiers, equipment
suppliers, and private and public sector customers alike. Some of his more recent projects involved fibreoptic backbone and metro net roll-outs, ‘whitespace’ regulation and other spectrum management, MVNO
and reseller capacity, dual-use export controls, regulatory regime overhauls, licensing, VoIP regulation, call
termination charging, M&A and strategic sourcing. Jan Willem worked at Ofcom, the UK communications
regulator, as well as at Standard Chartered Bank. Before joining SNR Denton, he worked at the European
Commission and at the Institute for Information Law.
Liana Dinghille Group Strategy Director, EMEA, Brand development
Ask Liana about her heritage, and she will passionately and proudly declare her Sicilian roots, which keep her
grounded as she crisscrosses the globe to spread her branding expertise.
Liana is particularly inspired by opportunities in emerging markets. Her ability to think creatively and
illuminate the value of what companies do and deliver has resulted in effective branding strategies for
numerous organizations and institutions.
Before joining us, Liana was head of consulting at Dragon Rouge. Among her high-profile global assignments
was working with Dubai-based real estate developer Nakheel to launch Palm Jumeirah, the artificial
archipelago shaped in the form of a palm tree. She also helped launch SkyLink the first and largest 3G mobile
brand in Russia.
Prior to Dragon Rouge, Liana held senior client-side brand management positions at Visit London,
British Airways and TUI Travel.
Liana is most inspired by life as you find it. The best creative stimulus there is.
Andrew Doyle Development Director: Technology & Communications Consulting, Mott MacDonald
Andres de Orleans-Borbon CFO, Helios Towers Africa
Andrew is responsible for leading international telecom projects in the UK, Europe and Africa.
Andres joined Helios Towers Africa in January 2012 and is responsible for all finance, IT and business
development activities.
After joining Mott MacDonald in 2004, he relocated to Johannesburg, South Africa, where he led the
technology and communications consulting team’s expansion into Africa. During his time there, Andrew led
numerous new telecom investment assignments – from funding rounds to business launch – and a number
of due diligence exercises on behalf of investors. These projects ranged from a pan-African WiMax operator,
to wholesale fibre and passive infrastructure (tower) projects. Prior to Mott MacDonald, Andrew managed a
marketing consulting practice in Australia (IDC) and was involved in a telco start-up with Capital One, having
previously worked at Coopers & Lybrand within their telecoms strategy & policy group.
Prior to Helios Towers, Andres was a Vice President at Helios Investment Partners focusing on all tower
investments including Helios Towers Nigeria, the inception of Helios Towers Africa and all subsequent sale and
lease back transactions. Prior to joining Helios Investment Partners, Andres was an associate in the Leverage
Finance team at JPMorgan where he participated in over 15 large financings.
Andres holds a Management Engineering degree from the Polytechnic of Turin.
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Hythem El Nazer Principal, TA Associates
Nick Flitterman Head of Telecoms, Portland Advisers
Hythem T. El-Nazer is a Principal with TA Associates, a $16 billion growth private equity firm and is based
in the firm’s Boston office. Hythem concentrates his efforts on investments in communications and
technology companies. He is a member of the Board of Directors of eSecLending, Radialpoint, TEOCO,
Weather Investments S.p.A. and Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. Hythem was also actively involved in TA’s
investments in Idea Cellular and MetroPCS Communications. Prior to joining TA in 2004, he worked in the U.S.
and the Middle East offices of McKinsey & Company and in the Investment Banking Department of Donaldson,
Lufkin & Jenrette. Hythem received a General Course degree from the London School of Economics and
Political Science, an AB degree in Economics from Brown University and an MBA degree from Columbia
Business School.
Nick is Head of Telecoms at Portland Advisers, a financing advisory boutique that he co-founded in 2008,
which advises clients on structuring and raising project and structure finance across the telecoms, energy
and infrastructure sectors. Nick has over 15 years experience acting in senior advisory and lending roles
across the communications, technology and satellite sectors. He previously held senior roles at RBS,
PricewaterhouseCoopers and, most recently, was Head of Telecoms for the Project & Export Finance team at
HSBC. Recent corporate clients include Seaborn Networks, O3b Networks, Spectrum Five, Cable & Wireless,
Indosat, Yahsat, Etisalat, and Digicel. Nick has also advised a number of government entities including the
Ministry of Communications of Azerbaijan, the Welsh Government, the UK Department of Health, and the
Norwegian Ministry of Justice. Nick has a BA (Hons) in International Economics and a Maitrise in International
Commerce, and is an associate of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (ACMA).
Luigi Gambardella Chairman Executive Board, ETNO
Jeff Eldredge Partner, Vinson & Elkins RLLP
Jeff’s practice focuses on mergers and acquisitions, project development and finance, and corporate finance
and capital markets transactions, with an emphasis on cross border and privatization transactions in the
telecommunications and energy (including renewables) industries in Europe, the Middle East, and North
Africa.
Jeff has represented developers, corporate issuers and acquirers, and their advisors in numerous cross
border transactions.
Luigi Gambardella ran the regulatory and Institutional affairs for Olivetti before joining Telecom Italia Group
in 1999, managing relations with the National Regulatory Authority. He is now VP, International Institutions
Relations. Luigi is also the Founder of EUBrasil (European Association for Europe-Brazil relations), a Member
of the Executive Board of ETNO (European Telecom Network Operators’ Association); and also is also
a Member of the Board of the European American Business Council; the Board of the European Internet
Foundation; the BIAC (Business and Industry Advisory Committee) at the OECD, and the Board of Italy- United
Arab Emirates Association, and President of Puntoit. Luigi graduated in economics from Bocconi University in
Milan, and has a postgraduate of the College of Europe.
He also has substantial experience in the areas of project bond financings and public and private debt
restructurings. Jeff has been advising on major international telecoms infrastructure transactions since 1999.
Romeo Ganescu Group Director, Products and Partnerships, Vimpelcom
Romeo Ganescu is a wireless technology marketing executive with a track record of creating and managing
marketing and product strategies, developing consumer and business propositions and building business
partnerships.
Nick Elverston Partner, technology, media and communications, corporate, Herbert Smith Freehills
Nick is the head of the Herbert Smith Freehills top tier global telecoms, media and technology practice and has
over 20 years of transactional, commercial and regulatory experience in the telecoms sector.
Nick has been involved in a wide range of projects worldwide including acquisitions, disposals, financings,
joint ventures and strategic commercial arrangements such as network/service roll-out. His clients include
operators, equipment vendors, service providers and banks based across Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and
Asia. Most recently he has been involved in the creation of cornerstone, Telefonica and Vodafone’s ground
breaking tower and active RAN sharing joint venture.
His clients include Axiata, Bharti Airtel, BSkyB, Investec, Nedbank, NTT DoCoMo, Tata Communications and
Telefónica O2.
‘Excellent problem solver’ Nick Elverston, who has ‘outstanding industry knowledge’ Legal 500 2011
He has 13 years experience across European and North-American markets, working in local operations and
global headquarters. Among his achievements is starting up and bringing to market Canada’s largest 3G-only
nationwide carrier, WIND Mobile.
Experienced in building and managing teams of Senior Managers. Managed cross-functional international
teams and delivered projects in complex multinational organisations.
Engaging personality with a passion to make a difference. Chartered Marketer with an MBA from Cass
Business School London U.K. and MSc in Engineering.
Natasha Good Partner, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
Natasha is known for putting together complex deals – particularly in the communications and technology
sectors. She understands the nuts and bolts of the industry as well as bringing excellent technical skills in
corporate and commercial law.
Natasha spent a year on secondment with the UK telecoms regulator at the start of her career.
Fernando Faria Director of Marketing at the GSM Association
Fernando Faria is Director of Marketing at the GSM Association, which represents the interests of mobile
operators worldwide.
In his role, Fernando runs the GSMA’s conference platform across all GSMA events including the Mobile World
Congress in Barcelona, Mobile Asia Expo and NFC & Mobile Money Summit.
Fernando was born in Brazil, where he worked for 12 years in different companies in the banking and telecoms
industries, before moving to Boston/USA in 2007 to join Pyramid Research, before moving to London nearly
three years ago.
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Her work is truly global and she is experienced in helping her clients to identify and control the risks of
investing in high growth markets. Natasha’s breadth of work means she is well placed to understand and help
her clients prepare for the ongoing challenges a business may face.
Chambers UK 2012 identified Natasha as a leader in the telecoms field and she is a consulting editor of Getting
the Deal Through: Telecoms and Media.
Natasha’s recent work includes advising:
• MTN on its tower ventures in Ghana and Uganda and;
• Hutchison on the sale of its interest in Indian mobile operator, Hutch Essar, to Vodafone and on 3G network
sharing in the UK.
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Daniel Gurrola Group Strategy & Business Development, Orange France Telecom
Richard Hunter Managing Director, Fitch Ratings
Daniel is responsible for defining, driving and articulating the Orange group’s consumer mobile strategy and
business priorities across its 35 international operations. He joined Orange in 2005 and has over 18 years
professional experience bringing together strategic thinking and operational hands-on delivery. He has strong
telecommunications industry experience covering wide ranging topics.
Richard Hunter, based in London, is the managing director responsible for Fitch’s corporate rating practice in
Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific. The international corporate rating group provides rating and
research coverage from 27 offices on over 1,000 industrial, commercial, utility and other corporate entities in
more than 40 countries.
His leadership posts include serving as the Chairman of the Chief Strategy Officers Group (CSOG) for the
GSMA and he is also a founder of the Wholesale Applications Community alliance, bringing together leading
global operators and telecommunications industry players to develop a global platform for applications.
Daniel also plays a leading role in defining the Orange group’s strategy for Mobile NFC (Near Field
Communications) and plays a leading role in a partnership with other leading mobile operators to build a new
ecosystem for Mobile NFC services. Daniel speaks five European languages.
Prior to this, Richard served for four years in London as the Regional Credit Officer for Europe and Asia.
Between 2002 and 2005, Richard managed the agency’s global power practice in New York, prior to which he
spent six years in lead analytical roles covering a variety of industrial and commercial entities across Europe
and Asia.
Richard is a regular speaker at financial market and policymaker forums addressing credit risk. He is a
graduate of Lincoln College, Oxford University, and, before joining Fitch, worked in credit roles in Frankfurt
and London at the central liquidity institution for the German cooperative financial system
Roland Haidner Head of M&A, Telekom Austria
Before this appointment, Roland Haidner had been a member of the Management Board of both Mobiltel
(Bulgaria) and Vip mobile (Republic of Serbia). While Roland was CFO at Vip mobile the company was awarded
a third mobile license in the Republic of Serbia in 2006, which has since made a positive contribution to EBITDA
since 2010. Currently, the Serbian mobile operator has a customer base of over 1.6 million mobile subscribers
and a market share of 16.1%. As CFO of Vip mobile, Roland Haidner not only succeeded in achieving key
financial targets such as the operating break-even point but also set up a strong team of Serbian managers and
experts.
Roland Haidner graduated from the Vienna University of Economics and Business where he focused on the
Central and Eastern European region.
Claire Landon Conference Editor, TelecomFinance
Claire Landon is the TelecomFinance Conference Editor, with responsibility for setting the event programme, sourcing speakers
and liaising with sponsors alongside the commercial team.
She has covered TMT since 2005, writing for Mergermarket, Thomson Reuters and Telecomfinance magazine, which she edited
for four years. She has also published articles on lifestyle and culture for publications including the Wall Street Europe.
Claire has a BA in History and Spanish from the University of Michigan, and an MA in Technical and Specialised Translation from
the University of Westminster.
Roland Haidner spends his spare time traveling, skiing, going to the opera and the theatre.
Enda Hardiman Managing Partner, Hardiman Telecommunications Ltd
Enda Hardiman is the founder and Managing Partner of Hardiman Telecommunications, which he established in
1994. HTL advises major investment banks, private equity funds and telecommunications carriers on Company
Valuations, Flotations, Mergers and Acquisitions, Performance Optimisation, Competitive Strategy, Market
Entry, Market Positioning, Operations, Licensing, Service Development, Service Positioning, and Technology
Management and Transition.
From facilities in London and Hong Kong, the company’s expertise spans Western Europe, Central / Eastern
Europe, Africa, the Middle East, Asia and the Pacific Rim.
Mr. Hardiman graduated in Mathematical Sciences from Trinity College Dublin in 1978, and is a Chartered
Engineer and Chartered Physicist. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Physics, a Fellow of the Institution of
Electrical Engineers and a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
Vincent Le Stradic MD, Head of EMEA, Technology & Telecoms, Lazard Bank
Vincent Le Stradic is a Managing Director responsible for the Technology & Telecom sectors in Europe, Middle East and Africa. He
is a member of the Lazard European Banking Committee, and a Board member of Lazard Frères Banque in Paris. Vincent Le Stradic
has been involved in more than US$380bn of M&A transactions with a focus on the Telecom, Technology and Media sectors, and
has advised inter alia the following groups: Alcatel, ARM Holdings, Belgacom, Bouygues, British Telecom, Eutelsat, France Telecom
Orange, Liberty Global, KPN, Reliance, SES Astra, Sistema/MTS, SNI/ONA, TDF, Tele2, Telefonica, Telenor, Vivendi, Vodafone,
Wind/Orascom and ZTE. Among his various transactions, he has advised on the largest M&A transaction to date (Vodafone/
Mannesmann), the first Nasdaq/LSE IPO (ARM Holdings), the largest European de-merger (TNT Post Group/KPN), the largest M&A
transaction ever in Morocco (SNI/ONA), and the largest western investment in Ukraine (Volia Cable).
Prior to establishing HTL, Mr. Hardiman worked with Raytheon Corporation, Computer Sciences Corporation,
Westinghouse Electric Corporation and Nynex Corporation in London, Brussels, Dublin, Paris and the United
States. He is fluent in English and French.
Christian Lesueur MD & Head of EMEA Media & Telecoms Investment Banking, UBS
Kevin Harrington Managing Director, Global Pre paid Exchange
Kevin Harrington is Managing Director of Gx, the widest reaching emerging payments and prepaid industry
organisation in the world with a membership that spans four continents. Kevin’s mission is to ensure that all
sectors of the economy understand and exploit the massive potential of new payment technologies and prepaid
solutions prepay to solve business and consumer problems, or just make life better and simpler. One of the
strangest facts about him is that he’s the 30th great-grandson of William the Conqueror, which perhaps has
some relevance to his current role.
Kevin is also the Managing Director of the Emerging Payments Awards and the Prepaid Awards as well as COO
of Global Legal Exchange, a specialist legal service for the payments industry.
With previous business experience as Global Marketing Director with BBC Worldwide and a senior manager
with Sony, Kevin has a broad view of the commercial and consumer world.
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Christian has been with UBS for 14 years and runs the EMEA Media & Telecoms Investment Banking group.
The team ranked no.1 in telecoms M&A 2006-2010.
•26 M&A transactions for Vodafone totaling over US$164 billion:
-US$6 billion merger of Vodafone Australia with H3GA
-US$13 billion acquisition of HTIL’s interests in HEL (largest M&A transaction in India – Deal of the Year)
•6 M&A transactions for Zain totaling US$33 billion:
-US$13 billion sale of 46% of Zain to Etisalat
-US$10.7 billion sale of Zain Africa to Bharti (largest MENA disposal, second largest MENA M&A transaction –
Cross Border Deal of the Year)
•BSkyB’s defense on the £12.6 billion (US$18.6 billion) bid from News Corp. (2010)
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Douglas Loewe Managing Director, Interxion
Amit Nagpal Partner, Aetha Consulting
Doug has extensive senior management experience in several international companies in the Information,
Communication and Technology sector.
Amit Nagpal is a Partner at Aetha Consulting which he co-founded with four other former Partners from
Analysys Mason. Amit has over 15 years of experience of advising telecoms industry players across the globe
including supporting several multi-billion dollar M&A and debt financing transactions as well as leading
numerous high-profile regulatory studies, particularly in the area of radio spectrum policy.
His work history includes being VP Global Accounts EMEA for UUNET, President of Global Enterprise Markets
for Cable and Wireless, VP and Managing Director EMEA and Asia for IPASS, and VP and Managing Director
EMEA for Rackspace Hosting.
He holds a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and an
undergraduate degree in Computer Science from The Ohio State University.
Examples of transactions Amit has played a key role in include supporting Etisalat with its successful acquisition
of Egypt’s third mobile licence, undertaking a due diligence of Mobily, on behalf of Citigroup, in support of a
USD3 billion syndicated debt transaction and undertaking a due diligence on Zapp (Romania) in relation to the
provision of a USD100 million+ loan facility by a consortium of North American and European lenders.
Marie-Laure Mazaud Global Head of Project Finance and Credit, Alcatel-Lucent
Amit has worked in the area of spectrum management for over 20 years. His experience includes undertaking
high-profile policy studies for the European Commission and national regulators, as well as assisting operators
and regulators with their preparations for spectrum auctions. In the last 18 months alone, Aetha has supported
Eircom, KPN (two countries), Orange (two countries), TDC, Telecom Italia, Millicom (several countries),
Telefonica and Telenor with the valuation of spectrum and has also advised the UK and Belgian regulators
(Ofcom and BIPT) on sell side issues.
Marie-Laure Mazaud is the Global Head of Project Finance and Credit of Alcatel-Lucent. She is also an
administrator of Electro Banque, the banking arm of the group and an active member of the International
Commission at the MEDEF in France.
At Alcatel-Lucent she has managed customer financing, treasury and risk assessment and banking relations;
developed and successfully implemented the “Credit to Cash” project; and set up an export and project finance
team in China in order to leverage access to Chinese financing.
Prior to this, Marie-Laure was Head of Structured and Project Finance at Coface, having started her career with
roles at Citibank Paris and Crédit Lyonnais Tokyo.
At both Coface and Alcatel-Lucent, she led the structuring, execution and renegotiation of export, structured
and project finance transactions, on a multi source base, worldwide, in the telecoms and other sectors.
She holds a Masters in Corporate Finance from Lyon Graduate School of Management, a degree from Lille
Graduate School of Business (EDHEC) and a BA in Business Studies from Brighton Polytechnic.
Karim Michel Nasr CEO, Digital World Capital LLP
Karim Nasr, 41, is the CEO of Digital World Capital LLP, an asset management firm, which intends to launch a
hedge-fund specializing in investments in the telecom and technology sector across the capital structure.
Prior to DWC, Karim was the Corporate Finance Officer of Wind Telecom, a global telecommunication
operator. For the past ten years, Karim was responsible for a wide range of financing, investment and liability
management projects in the telecom sector worldwide. Karim joined the strategic planning and business
development group of Orascom Telecom Holding in 2000; participating in the acquisition of several greenfield
licenses. Before joining Orascom Telecom Holding, Karim was the CEO of Anzima s.a.l., a Lebanese IT consulting
and software firm.
He started his career in in a Lebanese print media group.
Simon McCoy Journalist & Presenter BBC
Simon started his journalism career at the Fleet Street News Agency in London before joining Thames TV as a
researcher for Thames News in 1983.
After time as a scriptwriter at Thames TV in 1986 he joined the breakfast TV station TV-am as a news editor.
In 1988 Simon left to go to a new satellite channel called Sky - initially as a producer on the Sky News breakfast
programme Sunrise. After a year as a general reporter for the station he was appointed Royal Correspondent
and between 1991 and 1996 Simon covered all the major stories which affected the Royal Family.
After a job which involved travel around the world throughout the years Simon took a desk job, presenting
Sunrise on Sky News. He also presented the Tonight programme - a topical chat show involving interviews with
people from the worlds of showbiz, politics and sport.
Michele Piergiovanni Case Manager, European Commission Merger Control Unit
Michele Piergiovanni is a case manager in Unit C-5 of DG Competition of the European Commission dealing
with mergers in the IT, telecom and media sectors. Prior to joining the European Commission, Mr. Piergiovanni
worked for several years at the Brussels and Italian offices of a top-tier competition law firm dealing with a
wide range of issues of EU and Italian competition law, from cartel investigations, to abuses of dominance,
to mergers and State aids. Mr. Piergiovanni holds a law degree from the University of Genoa, as well as LLM
degrees from the College of Europe and Harvard Law School. Mr. Piergiovanni is fluent in Italian, English and
French.
In 2003 McCoy co-anchored Sky’s coverage of the Iraq war on location in Kuwait and Basra. He was on air for
five hours every day of the conflict.
Terry Rhodes Co-founder and director of Eaton Towers
Philipp Meier-Scherling Head of Telecoms – EMEA, Deutsche Bank
Philipp is a Managing Director in the European Telecom Investment Banking team, focusing on the European
incumbent and cable sectors. He has sixteen years of investment banking experience in the Telecom and Media
sector.
Prior to joining Deutsche Bank in 2005, he spent seven years at Credit Suisse First Boston and three years at
Citigroup Salomon Smith Barney.
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Terry Rhodes is a Co-founder and Director of Eaton Towers, which since 2008 has raised over $250 million to
invest in shared infrastructure in Africa. Eaton’s customers include Vodafone, MTN, Airtel and Tigo.
Terry has specialised in African telecoms for the last 15 years – in 1998 he co-founded Celtel, (now Airtel
Africa) which invested more than $1 billion before its sale in 2005 and now has more than 50 million customers
in 15 countries. Previously Terry worked for BT (now O2), Cable & Wireless and HM Treasury. Terry holds a
MBA (Distinction) from London Business School and MSc. in Economics from LSE.
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Daniel Ritz Chief Strategy Officer, Etisalat Group
David Stewart Competition Policy Director, Ofcom
Daniel Ritz was appointed Chief Strategy Officer for the Etisalat Group in February 2012. Reporting to the
Group CEO and as a member of the Etisalat Group Management Committee, he is responsible for managing
strategy, business development, M&A and Strategic Project Management functions. He joined from
Swisscom, where was CSO since 2006.
David Stewart is Competition Policy Director at Ofcom, the UK’s converged communications regulator, where
he chairs Ofcom’s competition policy work programme in fixed and mobile telecommunications.
There, he was a member of the Executive Board, holding board positions at Fastweb in Italy, at Belgacom
International Carrier Services (JV with Belgacom and MTN), and Swisscom IT Services. He also served as
Chairman of Swisscom Hospitality Services, a global provider of ICT services to the hospitality industry.
Daniel Ritz was instrumental in building Swisscom Ventures, a leading international Corporate Venture Capital
unit. Between 2008 and 2009, he acted as CEO and led a turnaround at Swisscom Central & Eastern Europe.
David previously led Ofcom’s competition policy work in UK mobile markets, and was Ofcom’s Director of Investigations
(responsible for competition law enforcement, consumer enforcement and arbitration of regulatory disputes). Prior to joining
Ofcom, he has held senior legal, regulatory and public policy roles in global and UK telecoms operators, and worked a lawyer in
private practice.
Prior to Swisscom, he was at The Boston Consulting Group for 12 years, the last five as a Partner, serving
European and US TMT clients.
Daniel Ritz holds a Ph.D (magna cum laude) from the Hochschule St. Gallen in Switzerland and was a visiting
Ph.D student at Harvard Business School.
Michael Rolph Director, Anthemis Group
Michael is the resident “disruptive innovator” bringing a distinct entrepreneurial spirit, an extensive
professional network and deep domain expertise in eCommerce and alternative payments.
Michael is driving the incubation of Anthemis | Labs, sits on the board of Mobank and regularly mentors at
Seedcamp.
Benoît Tanguy Co-Head of TMT Finance, Société Générale, Paris
Benoit is Currently Co-Head of TMT Finance for Société Générale based in Paris, with teams in Paris and
London covering the EMEA region.
18 years of Telecom Finance experience. Started at Paribas Media & Telecom finance team. Lead some of the
first financings supporting the network expansion of mobile and cable operators in the mid 1990s, then for the
fixed line operators (CLECs) in the late 1990s.
Latest transactions bookrunned by my team cover the following sectors, cable (Ono and SBB Telemach),
mobile (Sunrise, Polkomtel), fibre (Metroweb), towers (Cra) and satellite (Iridium).
Michael spent several years at Paypal where he gained a deep experience in the e-commerce and wallet space,
he held senior roles at Barclaycard and Firstdata furthering his experience in both B2B and B2C card payments.
Born in England and graduated from Canterbury Christ Church University, Michael lives in Maidstone (UK),
with his young family.
Andrea Salvato Head of M&A, Liberty Global
Andrea Salvato is Senior Vice President and Chief Development Officer for Liberty Global, Inc. In this capacity,
he is responsible for overseeing the Company’s mergers and acquisitions and business development
activities and is based in the Company’s London office. Mr. Salvato is an executive officer of Liberty Global
and sits on the Company’s Executive Management Committee.
Mr. Salvato joined Liberty Global in July 2005 as Managing Director, Corporate Development with
responsibility for managing the Company’s mergers and acquisitions activity. Before joining Liberty Global,
Mr. Salvato was a Managing Director at JPMorgan Chase’s investment banking division where he focused
on advising telecommunications and media clients, including the predecessor of our subsidiary Liberty
Global Europe. Prior to JPMorgan Chase, Mr. Salvato held roles at the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (London) and Bain and Company (London).
Mr. Salvato received an honors degree in Chemistry from the University of Bristol and is a former Courtaulds
Chemistry Scholar.
David Tanner Director of Technology & Strategy, Technology & Communications Consulting Practice,
Mott MacDonald.
An experienced management consultant with over nineteen years’ technical and management experience
in the telecommunications arena. Dave uses his expertise in various fixed and mobile telecommunications
technologies, particularly personal mobile radiocommunications, to provide strategic and operational advice
to diverse players, from new entrants to major businesses, across the telecoms industry. Dave is experienced
in working in multi-discipline environments, in leading multi-disciplinary teams and in communicating
complicated technical concepts to an audience of widely varying backgrounds . In recent years, Dave
has provided strategic advice to, and due diligence expertise (for M&A activities) on, several telecoms
infrastructure operators in the UK, Middle East and Africa.
Specialties
- Technical and operational business strategy development;
- Technical and operational due diligence;
- Contract and project management;
- Technical knowledge of wireless technologies, including GSM/ UMTS/ LTE and WiMAX d/e/m
Peter Stephens Partner and Global Head for Telecoms & Media Investments for Virgin Management Limited
Peter Stephens is a Partner and is Global Head for Telecoms & Media Investments for Virgin Management
Limited. Responsible for developing and expanding Virgin’s media and telecom interests across the world,
he is on the boards of Virgin Mobile Latin America, Virgin Mobile India, Virgin Mobile Chile, Virgin Mobile
South Africa, Virgin Mobile Middle East & Africa and Virgin Mobile Central & Eastern Europe. Peter also works
closely with the management teams of Virgin’s other media and telecom interests globally.
Peter has over 18 years’ experience working closely with global media and telecom companies at various
stages of development. He is responsible for creating new business ventures for Virgin and guiding their
initial development, with a particular focus on building out Virgin’s interests in the T&M sector across pay
television, telephony, broadcast TV, internet/social media, etc.
Peter’s background is telecoms & media investment banking, at Bank of America Merrill Lynch as an MD
advising on business strategy, M&A and fundraising initiatives; Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette/CSFB; and
Salomon Brothers. He has an MBA from Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill.
22
Nina Triantis Head, Telecoms & Media Coverage Head, Financial Sponsor Coverage Investment Banking
Standard Bank Plc
Over 25 years investment banking experience, specialised in the TMT sector with experience throughout the
developed world and the emerging markets for over 15 years. Has led complex and plain vanilla financing
transactions across the capital spectrum, including in the public debt markets. Wide ranging M&A advisory
and capital raise experience in the sector with a focus on the African continent latterly
Deep sectoral experience in telecoms in mobile, fixed telephony, cable, fixed wireless, alternative carriers,
satellite and tower infrastructure sharing
Diverse and broad client base including global and regional players, in the telecoms, media, technology and
related sectors
Responsible for coordination and coverage of financial sponsors including private equity, institutional
investors, family offices and sovereign wealth funds with a focus of transactions into Africa across sector
23
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