A one-day event for the next generation of global submarine cable industry talent

Chloe is a Permitting Manager at OceanIQ, part of the Global Marine Group. She is primarily responsible for managing the permits, consents, licenses and authorisations associated with the Group’s cable installation and maintenance vessels stationed worldwide. This involves emergency consenting and permitting of subsea cable repairs within the Atlantic Cable Maintenance Agreement (ACMA) and North America Zone (NAZ). From a consultancy perspective, she also investigates permitting requirements across the globe for new subsea cable projects, which involves liaising with the relevant authorities and in-country stakeholders.

Chloe attended Bangor University from 2015-2019, obtaining a BSc (Hons) Marine Vertebrate Zoology and MSc Marine Biology. Prior to joining OceanIQ, Chloe worked in the marine survey industry as a data processor for hydrographic and geophysical surveys before finding her niche in the subsea cables industry.

With an active role in the European Subsea Cables Association (ESCA), Chloe is Chair of the Next Generation Working Group and member of the Technical and Regulatory Subgroup (TRSG). She is passionate about developing early career professionals as they begin their careers in the industry through mentorship and knowledge sharing opportunities."

‍

Isabel has been in the submarine cable industry for 2 years now working at RedPenguin Marine as a Project Engineer. After achieving a Distinction in her master’s degree at the University of Portsmouth and with a background in marine biology, she joined the submarine cable industry by chance! Her daily focus is the provision of technical input and support to Red Penguin's current and future projects, as well as providing support in the form of research analysis and data processing; she also delivers GIS support across a range of telecoms and power cable projects to her fellow project engineers. Recently promoted, Isabel now manages her own projects, including operations and maintenance support to a client's HVDC interconnector; this has seen her oversee the review and update of a robust repair preparedness plan for their system.

Isabel firmly believes that there is an amazing opportunity for those already established in the industry and those fresh to it, to encourage new people into the submarine cable sector. A firm believer in the power of conversation she supports raising awareness of the many career paths, the fascinating and developing technologies, and the roles all submarine cables play in delivering social, economic, and environmental goals.

As co-deputy chair of the European Subsea Cable Association Next GenerationWorking Group, Isabel encourages an environment that promotes curiosity, engagement and excitement, knowing that attracting the next generation of engineers to the subsea cable industry is a task for us all to engage with.

Nigel Bayliff joined Google in May 2023 to lead its global submarine network team, driving the company’s investments in reach, reliability and resilience. He and his team are currently focussed on system development and construction across the world, particularly on Google’s Pacific Connect initiative, bringing connectivity to an historically under-served region.

‍

Prior to joining Google, Nigel served for seven years as CEO & Board Director of Aqua Comms, propelling the initial investment in two cables into a platform managing multiple owned & co-invested cable network assets and delivering wholesale services across the Atlantic ocean and beyond. In 2021 the company was acquired by Digital 9 Infrastructure trust as their initial platform investment.

‍

Nigel also ran a successful consulting business, SinMedida Limited, which operated as an advisor and consultant engineer to cable development, private equity and government clients and he contributed as Vice-Chairman of the United Nations Joint Task Force that examines the gathering of disaster mitigation and climate information from the global web of undersea cable assets. In 2006 he was elected as a Fellow of the UK Institute of Engineering Technology.

‍

Between 2009 and 2014 Nigel was founding GM/CEO and Board Director of Huawei Marine Networks (a joint venture between Global Marine Systems Limited and Huawei), presiding over several undersea technological product advances, as well as its commercial launch into the marketplace and successful completion of 15 turn-key cable projects.

‍

From 2002 to 2008, he was a member of the executive team of FLAG Telecom working as director and deputy chairman for several group companies, and was responsible for the construction and operation of the FLAG Global Network, encompassing 65,000 km of submarine cable systems providing carrier-grade connectivity services to 40 countries.

‍

His early career involved many technical leadership roles spanning Mercury/Cable & Wireless, Bell Canada and NTL (now Liberty Global).

Keri Gilder is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Colt. Before joining Colt, Keri held several leadership roles at Ciena, but was most recently its Vice President and General Manager EMEA, responsible for guiding Ciena’s EMEA service provider and enterprise customers, as well as partners. Prior to Ciena, Keri worked in multiple roles for Lucent Technologies, and she has also worked for Hughes Aircraft as a Network Engineer.
‍

Keri is passionate about promoting Inclusion and Diversity and brings this passion to the wider industry as the Chair of the TM Forum’s Diversity & Inclusion Council and President of the Global Telecom Women’s Network. Keri has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Management Information Systems (MIS) from New Mexico State University. Keri lives in London with her husband and two children and is based at Colt’s head office in London.

Since joining Aqua Comms in 2018 as General Counsel, Sandra has had full responsibility for all of the legal, compliance, regulatory and ESG matters for Aqua Comms. This includes the permitting and regulatory compliance for the various Aqua Comms cables landing in US, Ireland, UK, Denmark, IOM and India together with developing, with the wider Aqua Comms Team, the various sustainability initiatives which is driving Aqua Comms towards achieving its 2030 SBTi target. Sandra had previously worked with multinational companies on global technology, engineering and telecommunications projects–including with Actavo Group, BAE Systems and Dell.

Frankie is a Senior Cable Engineer at Vodafone, specialising in the operations and maintenance of subsea cable systems. She first attended this conference as a graduate two years ago, and it has been pivotal in her journey from an eager graduate to a permanent fixture in the industry. She has expertise spanning system design, cable engineering, fault analysis, and preventive maintenance, all contributing to enhancing the reliability and efficiency of subsea communication networks.

‍

Since joining the industry, she has focused on applying her technical skills to real-world challenges. Her rapid professional growth underscores the importance of perseverance, curiosity, and active involvement in the professional community.

‍

She is passionate about mentoring and knowledge sharing, aiming to bridge the gap between academic theory and practical application. Engaging with students and early-career professionals, she participates in various mentoring programs, workshops, and knowledge-sharing sessions and is deputy chair of the European Subsea Cable Association Next Generation working group. She believes that fostering a collaborative environment is crucial for the next generation of engineers to thrive and contribute meaningfully to the subsea cable industry.

Jo is a Technical Program Manager at Google and recently the technical and commercial lead for Google'sEquiano Submarine System in West Africa and more currently she is working on delivery of the Googlesubmarinenetwork construction program.She has worked in the submarine cable industry for over 25 years and prior to joining Google, she held positionsat Lumen, Level 3, Cable & Wireless and BT.Jo started her engineering career as an apprentice working in transmission equipment manufacture &development before moving into the subsea industry working in offshore operations, system architecture &engineering and program management.Jo holdsB.Engand MSc. in Optical Communications from University of Kentat Canterbury.

Ben Plimmer has recently joined Google as a Technical Program Manager within GGN's Subsea build team. He has spent the last three years working on Subsea new build projects for Meta and Vodafone working primarily on the 2Africa cable system. Ben's roles have led him to place a particular focus on overseeing the activities for the cable landing sites, working with in country partners to deliver the outside plant infrastructure and CLS. During this time, Ben project managed the deployment of multiple modular cable landing stations, leading to his chairing of a panel on the topic at the SubOptic conference in Bangkok in 2023.Ben studied Systems and Control Engineering at Sheffield University. During this time gained experience in both Civil Aerospace and Nuclear sectors, specifically working on manufacturing engineering process improvements and quality assurance initiatives.

Ed has forty-five years’ experience in international business, the majority of those in the wider subsea networks business. He was one of the early employees of FLAG Telecom and later joined Ciena as it entered the subsea system upgrade business.

‍
In that period, Ciena expanded its terrestrial network business into the submarine segment and introduced technology and innovation which continue to benefit the industry today. He has held a variety of executive roles and non-executive directorships in the wider network industry. Today, he continues to serve as a senior advisor to Ciena. In addition, he is a non-executive director of Aqua Comms an Irish multinational network provider. He also serves as an Operating Partner to its parent – Digital 9 Infrastructure.