John Varney (Chair)
John currently runs his own consultancy, Maximum Clarity, supporting public and private sector bodies with a wide range of technology issues. He is also Chairman of Pebble Beach Systems Group plc, which delivers software solutions for TV Broadcasters globally.
His previous roles include just under five years as Chief Technology Officer for the BBC and six years as Director of Technology for Granada. In these roles John oversaw the launch of DTT in 7 of the 13 ITV Regions and managed the development of a range of new BBC services including its R&D division.
John is Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Silk Heritage Trust, which runs 4 museums dedicated to the story of silk production in the UK and the Industrial, Social and Economic Development of the North West of England in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. He is a Director of Enterprising Macclesfield CiC, where he is also a business coach and mentor for local enterprises.
He is a Governor and member of Audit Committee at Manchester Metropolitan University.
He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Royal Television Society.
Emma Davison
Emma Davison has 20 years’ experience within the customer service industry, spanning sectors including retail, financial services and business process outsourcing. Through her membership of industry bodies, including the Call Centre Association, Emma has played an active role in promoting and sharing best practice from across different industries, to help improve the quality of service consumers receive on a day-to-day basis.
Caroline Roberts-Cherry
Caroline is a BAFTA award-winning producer who runs the Manchester-based TV and digital production company, Saffron Cherry TV which in the past year has made content for the BBC, Sky, ITV, CBBC, Channel 4, iPlayer and cinemas. Caroline established and went on to chair the Cultural Diversity Network North, which promoted Diversity within broadcasting in the region. Caroline also encouraged social inclusion and employability through her role in the Greater Manchester Employer Coalition. Caroline is a Royal Television Society judge, Women in Film and TV events co-ordinator for the North, and a Trustee for regional theatre of the year, Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester. Prior to running her own company, Caroline was a BBC executive producer responsible for shows such as Points of View, A Question of Sport and Mastermind. She is married with two sons at university.
Mark Smith
Mark Smith has been at the forefront of the mobile communications revolution since the early 1990s, playing an integral role in the foundation and establishment of the GSMA - the mobile industry’s principle global association - over more than two decades. This included the acquisition and growth of the mobile sector’s flagship global event, the Mobile World Congress. As Communications and later Marketing Director, he led communications globally to support the roll-out of digital mobile networks across the world as well as their evolutionary roadmap from 2G to 4G services. He created some of the first ground-breaking international platforms for the discovery of innovative start-ups and the recognition of best in class technology achievement and excellence. The GSMA today has more than 800 mobile network members, across more than 200 countries, serving 5 Billion users.
Over the last decade, with a vision for the future of mobile as the primary screen for media and content, he created a series of cross-industry engagement platforms, bringing together thousands of global entertainment organisations, broadcasters, creative agencies, consumer brand marketers, application developers and rights owners to secure content partnerships and develop innovative projects with the world’s biggest mobile networks. Mark currently has his own consultancy, MSA Ltd which is focused on the intersection of media, entertainment and technology. He sits on the Content Steering Committee for IBC, the International Broadcasting Convention, is a partner in ATC Advising, a music-technology consultancy, and is also a Non-Executive Board Member of the Henley Festival, a music & arts festival that attracts an annual audience of 30,000.
Alan Nunn
Alan is a Consulting Director at CGI, a Canadian IT and business consulting services firm operating in the UK and globally
He has over 30 years of experience in UK Telecoms, having worked in various roles at BT and as CTO at Newport Networks. He has experience in developing business strategy and creating roadmaps for technology solutions to meet complex business challenges. His roles have included architecting and implementing changes to BT’s core voice platforms, design and development of new products and services and strategic planning.
Alan has recently co-authored “UK Telecoms For Dummies”, a pocket guide to the UK Telecoms sector, as part of CGI For Dummies Series.
He is a member of the Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) and of the Institute of Telecommunications Professionals (ITP) and is a Chartered Engineer.
_____________________
As well as the appointed Members of the Advisory Committee, the Content Board Member, and the Communications Consumer Panel Member for the respective Nations are invited to attend Advisory Committee Meetings.
In England this is:
- Chris Holland - Communications Consumer Panel
- Monisha Shah - Content Board
