Judges Biographies

As a senior analyst in the JupiterResearch Paris office, Thomas Husson covers European Mobile. In his role, he provides critical insight into how Europe's rapidly evolving wireless landscape is impacting consumer behaviour and business models. Before joining JupiterResearch in January 2005, Thomas spent almost six years at Bouygues Telecom (3rd French operator), first as Internet product manager and then as I-Mode product manager. Thomas has also worked in the financial services sector in Milan in Italy. He has been quoted in both industry trade publications and in leading news organisations and has also appeared several times on BBC television. He regularly takes part in roundtables at conferences covering mobile consumer services.

Leading mobile analyst Paolo Pescatore has recently joined CCS Insight as director - operator strategy, content and applications. Paolo joins the CCS Insight team from IDC where he was research manager for the EMEA consumer wireless and mobile communications service. Paolo joined IDC's European Wireless and Mobile Communications expertise centre as a senior research analyst in April 2001. He is a well-regarded industry commentator and analyst, and is a regular speaker at industry events and has presented at a number of high-profile industry seminars and conferences, and has appeared live on CNBC Europe multiple times. Prior to joining IDC, he worked at Ovum as a research analyst, covering global wireless markets.

Daniel is a senior analyst in the mobile content and applications portfolio within Informa Telecoms & Media. He has built up a wide range of knowledge in his seven years in the telecoms industry and he has been able to apply this to many events, newsletters and reports he has been involved in. Daniel has worked in a research and analyst role within the mobile telecoms industry since 1999. He has worked extensively with professionals in the mobile content industry in planning high level events, as well as contributing to analytical newsletters and authoring an extensive range of management and strategic reports. He has spoken at a number of mobile focused events and is frequently called upon by leading publications to comment on the mobile industry. Previously to working at Informa T&M, Daniel was a billing and fraud analyst and a conference researcher.

Phil Taylor has over six years' experience in research, analysis and consulting in the wireless telecoms industry. At Strategy Analytics he focuses exclusively upon strategies for developing and marketing wireless data applications to consumers. He is a recognised authority on the development of best practice for carrier applications strategies, and in particular, on mobile commerce, gaming and messaging services. Phil has authored numerous reports and articles on these subjects, and is a regular speaker at industry conferences. Prior to joining Strategy Analytics, he was a Senior Analyst in the European Wireless division of the Yankee Group.

Ralph Simon, is recognized as one the leading international authorities on mobile entertainment and mobile content rights and delivery. Ralph leads the strategic vision and success of the MEF in the United States and Americas and is instrumental in leading the mobile entertainment industry for its members. He has over 30 years of successful entrepreneurial and leadership experience in the recording, music publishing and entertainment industry. Currently, he advises and guides the mobile interests of some of the world's leading recording artists and celebrities. He is a true pioneer of the mobile entertainment industry having been the first to introduce ring tones to the USA, where he co-founded and became Chairman of Yourmobile, specializing in the development, distribution and application of mobile entertainment content, intellectual property and publishing rights for mobile phones, devices and content. In addition, Ralph also held the position of Executive Vice-President of Capitol Records and Blue Note Records. He serves on the advisory board of Finnish company StarCut, one of the world leaders in the field of mobile entertainment.

Nick has been tracking the evolution of the mobile industry since the mid-1990s. Before moving into consultancy Nick was Head of Research Services and Principal Analyst for Informa Telecoms & Media’s premium mobile content and services products, overseeing leading industry newsletters, reports and forecasts that have helped shape the mobile industry. In this role, Nick established himself as one of the leading authorities on the mobile content and services space, regularly speaking and chairing at conferences and events around the world. Consequently, Nick has a contact database that is second-to-none, and could open doors that may otherwise remain locked.>

Seong-ju Lee is Editor-in-Chief of TelecomsKorea.com, an online English news channel that reports mobile and broadband market news of Korea, the biggest IT powerhouse in the world. He has been a reporter since 1994, where he was with PC World Korea, Computer World Korea, CIO Korea, and IT Business. Prior to joining Money Today as the senior reporter, he was with Financial News, the leading daily newspaper. He is currently covering the wireless communication area. He has observed the growth and failure of Dotcom companies and venture firms with the Internet boom. Moreover, he is in the middle of the mobile obsessed Korean society.

Maarten Noyons is founder and general manager of the International Mobile Gaming Awards (IMGA), the leading awards for mobile games, sponsored and endorsed by the mobile entertainment industry. The Awards recognize innovation and creativity in mobile games as a main driver of growth in the industry.In his 25 year career in the media industry, Maarten has developed, produced, bought and sold innovative content and services on many digital platforms. His credits include award winning commercials and music videos and some of the spearheading interactive entertainment concepts, such as the first interactive Auction TV channel iBidLive, SMS TV and location based mobile games. Previously, as Executive Producer of Czar Films he brought the music video production culture of young directors to the commercials industry.

Martin Garner is Director of Wireless Intelligence, the Ovum GSMA joint venture, responsible for bringing the service to market and commercialising it. While at Ovum Martin has built up the mobile communications practice, been responsible for developing the advisory services into the company's biggest line of business, and has led many consulting studies in the areas of mobile, policy and regulation. He has been involved with all Ovum Reports in mobile communications. Martin's 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry combine technical roles in product support with commercial and marketing aspects from government procurement and product management.

Pete Cunningham joined Canalys in May 2006. His responsibilities managing the company’s market-leading Smart Mobile Device Analysis services as well as providing clients with confidential advice on bringing new mobile devices and services to market, and how hardware and software vendors and operators should engage with each other. Prior to joining Canalys, Pete was Head of Product Marketing for Panasonic Mobile.

Ben Wood joined CCS Insight in May 2006. Ben leads a research practice focusing on mobile devices, applications and technologies. He has more than 13 years experience in the mobile sector, most recently as Research Vice President for Mobile Devices at Gartner where he led a global team of analysts. Prior to that he was Director of Mobile Streams, which was recently floated on AIM; spent three years at Lucent Technologies with a focus on advanced wireless applications for 2.5G and 3G networks; and spent three years at Vodafone where he was involved in launching SMS and Mobile Data. Ben is a respected industry commentator and is quoted regularly in top tier publications.

Chris Ambrosio, Wireless Device Strategies (WDS) service, is responsible for managing inquiries and analytical research on wireless devices and manufacturers. He also established the Strategy Analytics research module for quarterly and annual coverage of the global handset market. His 10 years of experience in the wireless industry include marketing and industry analysis work in cellular devices, wireless data, and PSTN voice and data services for Nextel Communications and ICG Communications. Prior to joining Strategy Analytics in 2001, Chris was a partner at Ohana Ventures, a venture capital firm that invested in next generation convergence technologies. He was responsible for performing and managing analysis in technology development and competitive markets in targeted telecommunications industry sectors.

Neil Mawston, Senior Industry Analyst, Wireless Device Strategies (WDS), is responsible for delivering analysis and insight to leading mobile carriers, handset vendors, contract manufacturers, module suppliers, PDA vendors, notebook PC vendors and software vendors worldwide. He is an authority on cameras, camcorder and TV phones, and has expertise on mobile market manufacturing trends. Neil’s recent work includes industry analysis of cellular communications, wireless data, end-user research, handset segmentation, mobile terminal sales and handset production. He led major research projects for network operators, equipment vendors, software vendors and investment banks focusing on WLAN devices, cellular PC cards, Bluetooth, handset end-user research, brand awareness, camera phone sales, broadcast-TV phone development, and original design manufacturers.

Andy Betts is the editor of PDA Essentials & GPS Advisor, the UK's leading magazine dedicated to all areas of handheld computing, and has been working on the title since 2002. As well as being a specialist in mobile technology he has also written widely on consumer electronics and computing for a number of publications.

Huw Morgan has been the editor of Mobile Choice, the UK’s prestigious monthly consumer mobile phone magazine and website, since August 2000 and is also the launch editor of Mobile Choice For Business, a magazine and website targeting the small business market. Huw is one of the UK’s leading mobile technology reviewers and commentators, and is usually among the first people in the country to receive and trial the latest cutting edge handsets and services. As a mobile expert and commentator, Huw is a frequent contributor to the UK’s consumer and national press, and appears regularly on TV and radio.

Peter Whitehead is Financial Times Digital Business editor. He joined the Financial Times in 1987 as a sub-editor and held the positions of editorial training manager, deputy Weekend Financial Times editor, and Financial Times Reports editor before becoming editor of Digital Business. Previously, Peter worked for the Northampton Chronicle and Echo, Coventry Evening Telegraph and Golf World Magazine. He has a law degree from the London School of Economics, which he completed in 1979. Born in 1958, he is married with two daughters. He enjoys tennis and skiing but his favourite diversion is music – both as listener and performer.

Romilly has worked for Oxfam in the UK for ten years. Previously she worked for Amnesty International. Romilly has a technical background, and a strong interest in how technology can reduce isolation and improve opportunities for people living in poor communities. In Oxfam, she has a networking role on the use of ICTs to support Oxfam's programme. Romilly supports the Oxfam policy team and technical staff around the world with research, learning and advice. Romilly works in the IT department as Technical Architect - working with others to develop the technical strategy. She also runs the team that delivers Oxfam's web and marketing systems.

Jessica Ekholm is the lead analyst on consumer services for Eastern Europe as well as several Western European countries at Gartner. She drives Gartner’s coverage of forecasts and operator trends for these markets. Jessica also supports Gartner's ongoing mobile applications research globally. Before joining the consumer services team, Jessica worked as a senior business analyst for the Gartner Cross-Technology department, concentrating on financial sector and vendor clients in Europe.

Aloysius Choong is a Senior Market Analyst at IDC's Asia/Pacific Personal Systems Group. In this role, he leads and coordinates the Asia/Pacific Mobile Devices research, focusing on data compilation and analysis, forecasting, competitive analysis, as well as advisory services across the region. A sought-after commentator on the mobile phone industry, Aloysius' views have appeared in various publications, including Bloomberg, Reuters and Singapore's Straits Times. Prior to joining IDC, Aloysius was a Senior Journalist at CNET Networks (Asia-Pacific), where he covered the communications and security industry. Several of his commentaries, reviews and news pieces have been published in key regional and global media.

Ian Jones is Academic visiting Fellow, Henley Management College; Visiting professor European School of Management, and formerly Professor of International Management and UK Director. He is Project leader and research associate, Centre for Business Research, Cambridge University, College lecturer Somerville and Mansfield Colleges, Oxford University. Ian is a Fellow of St Andrews Management Institute (consulting), and formerly Research Associate, Regulation Initiative, London Business School. He has taught executive programmes at London Business School, and is founding director, Executive MBA Programme, Cass (City University Business School. Ian started his career in marketing with Unilever, where he was a marketing manager in Belgium. Ian trained at the London Business School and has followed a career in management education.

Nick Jones is a vice president in Gartner Research. His research focuses primarily on mobile and wireless business and technology. His research coverage includes business-to-employee (B2E) and business-to-consumer (B2C) applications of mobility; mobile application development and delivery technologies including J2ME, and compact .NET; mobile payments; and emerging trends and technologies in the wireless and mobile industry. His secondary research interests include the social impact of technology, and European IT issues. Prior to joining Gartner, Nick gained wide experience in IT from both the user and vendor perspectives. He has worked for consulting organizations and software tools vendors in a variety of roles including technical consulting, product management, product selection and evaluation, globalization and product architecture.

Ken Banks, founder of kiwanja.net, specialises in the application of mobile technology for positive social and environmental change in the developing world. He combines over 22 years in I.T. with over 14 years experience living and working throughout Africa in countries including Nigeria, where he ran a primate sanctuary. In 1999 he graduated from Sussex University with honours in Social Anthropology with Development Studies. Ken has recently been interviewed by numerous top tier publications, and was invited to take part in an Aspen Institute round table discussion on the use of mobiles in activism and civic engagement. Ken has been awarded a MacArthur Foundation grant to continue his work, and was short listed for a mobile industry award for the development of FrontlineSMS.

Randy Giusto is IDC’s Group Vice President and General Manager of Mobility, Computing, and Consumer Markets. He is recognized as an expert in the mobility and wireless, PC, and consumer electronics markets and along with a team of highly seasoned analysts, drives research efforts across these areas. He is a frequent speaker and has presented at events such as CES, DEMO, and CTIA, as well as IDC’s annual Directions conferences in the U.S and Asia. His opinions have been published in diverse publications and he has also appeared on CBS MarketWatch, CNET Radio, and other audio and video programs. Randy has over 20 years of experience in the mobile, wireless, PC, and consumer electronics industries. Prior to joining IDC, he was Associate Director of Mobile and Personal Computing at BIS Strategic Decisions (now part of Forrester).