Preparing for an automated telco future

Charlotte is an independent industry analyst covering the use of Analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Automation (A3) by telecommunications companies. Her areas of interest are the uptake and efficacy of these technologies and the resulting financial benefit. She brings 13 years of experience as an analyst at Gartner and 10 years of practical experience in AT&T, COLT and Telefonica O2 – with a mix of strategic, marketing and financial skill sets.

Ken has a diverse background in the telecommunications industry spanning more than 30 years. He is currently focused on understanding how virtualization and 5G will change the way people and machines communicate and how operators will leverage automation, artificial intelligence and machine learning to better manage the customer’s quality of experience in this new reality—which in the end is all that matters.

Prior to joining EXFO, Ken held leadership roles in Solutions Marketing and Product Line Management with Nortel, Harris Broadcast, ADTRAN and Accedian Networks, focused on optical transport and Carrier Ethernet service assurance and performance monitoring.

Ken holds a Batchelor of Applied Science in Electrical Engineering from Queen’s University at Kingston Ontario.

Jo Hicks joined EXFO in March 2017 and is responsible for supporting the marketing strategy for the automated operations campaign. Previously, Ms. Hicks was a marketing assistant at Ontology Systems where she managed digital campaigns, events, public and analyst relations, internal communications and partner marketing. Earlier in her career, she held the role of Finance and Compliance Officer at a Mayfair-based equity firm, and worked as a personal assistant to the managing director of an online asset manager database in the City of London, England. Ms. Hicks holds a joint honors degree in history and Russian from the University of Birmingham.