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TM Forum Speakers

Keith Willetts

Keith Willetts, Chairman
kwilletts@tmforum.org

Keith Willetts is recognized as one of the world’s leading authorities on communications management. As co-founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the TM Forum, he has been the driving force behind its continuous evolution. Currently Managing Partner at Mandarin Associates Ltd. in the UK, he consults with companies on a wide variety of business development issues. He previously held executive positions at BT and TCSI. A regular presenter and writer, he co-authored the highly influential book, “The Lean Communications Provider” and recently released a second book, "Unzipping the Digital World." His achievements have been internationally recognized, being honored twice in the Communications Week “Top 25” awards for industry visionaries, the British Computer Society award and the BT Gold Medal.

Areas of expertise 
TM Forum - Industry business issues -  Management of information, communications and entertainment services  - Industry visionary - Market trends and predictions
Aileen Smith

Aileen Hurley Smith, Organizational Transformation / Member of Sr. Leadership Team
asmith@tmforum.org

Aileen Hurley Smith is Chief Operating Officer for the TM Forum. In this capacity she has responsibility for the overall operation of the organization, including the production of Best Practices and Standards which are widely deployed in industry to drive functionality in and cost out of today’s business and software solutions. Previously Aileen has held a number of other roles within the Forum, including responsibility for Membership, Events and Training. Prior to joining the TM Forum, Aileen held a number of Engineering Management positions in the Telecommunications industry, with companies such as Motorola and Alcatel.

 Areas of expertise
TM Forum - Management of information, communications and entertainment services - TM Forum Best Practices and Standards -- Content Encounter – Overall TM Forum Collaboration Program and Sector work 
Craig Bachmann

Craig Bachmann, Director of Cable, Utility & eHealthcare Programs
cbachmann@tmforum.org

Craig Bachmann has provided executive management and professional services to the cable, broadband, and Telecommunications industry, the Information Technology Industry, and the E-Commerce industry as a Chief Technology Officer, Chief Operations Officer, and Consultant for over 30 years.

Mr. Bachmann has led the development of innovative OSS/BSS systems, GIS, Location intelligence, digital media, and network infrastructure works (1 patented) including a data transformation and middleware product that was deployed by a major Broadband Cable service provider and a Telecom provider. Mr. Bachmann has also provided leadership as Chairman of E-Commerce for the International Engineering Consortium, lead author and participation in CableLabs projects, and participated in executive/think tank events such as the Cable Center’s “Vendor and Operator Executive Advisory Forum”. Mr. Bachmann has over 20 years of experience with the architectures, OSS/BSS, business models, and operations of the cable industry in a variety of roles.

Areas of expertise
Cable Industry Business, Technology and Market Transformation – Emerging Big Data challenge and opportunity – Location Intelligence as strategic tool – “Apps” and Over the Top Strategies – Frameworx for Cable – IPDR – OSS/BSS Architecture
Christy Coffey

Christy Coffey, Head of Defense Market Support Center
ccoffey@tmforum.org

Christy Coffey has been supporting the US DoD and its Coalition Partners since 2001 in a variety of capacities. As the Head of the TM Forum’s Government and Defense Market Support Center since its inception in 2008, Christy works directly with over 90 Government and Defense TM Forum member companies, like the US DoD’s DISA, NATO C3, and the UK MOD’s DSTL. Her main focus is to bring these agencies and their suppliers together to work in a collaborative environment to develop standards and best practices for Defense Telecommunications focused on hot topics such as Security, Spectrum, Federated SLA, and Policy Management. Christy holds a top secret security clearance, has a degree in Computer Science, and is recognized on software patents. Prior to working for the TM Forum, Christy spent over 20 years designing, developing, and deploying software solutions for customers in a variety of industries – including Government/Defense and Telecommunications.
Steve Cotton

Steve Cotton, Director of Business Assurance Programs
scotton@tmforum.org

Steve Cotton's career in computers and telecommunications began in 1966 and he has conducted business in 30 countries. After serving four years as a business systems programmer in the U. S. Air Force and then earning an MSEE in Communications Systems from Georgia Tech, Steve joined GTE as a telephony switching systems developer and had a successful 11 year tenure there, serving in various positions, including Director of Network Engineering and Vice President of Quality Management at GTE Telenet, culminating as Director of Strategic Planning for GTE Sprint. Starting in 1985, Steve served in various executive positions for several telecommunications ventures, deploying major billing teleprocessing systems throughout the RBOCs, cellular and PCS companies, as well as leading the development of a comprehensive wireless billing/customer care/POS system deployed worldwide. Steve has been operating a strategic management consulting practice since 1993 and was engaged by the IPDR organization from its inception until August of 2007 as Editor-in-Chief, responsible to the Board of Directors for all technical program activities of the organization. Steve served on the staff of the TM Forum during the integration of the IPDR Organization into the Forum.

Steve joined the TM Forum in July 2010 as Head of Revenue Management, leading Collaborative R&D across the entire Enterprise Management subject area, including Asset Management, Enterprise Risk Management, Fraud Management, Revenue Assurance, as well as operational areas such as Billing and Charging, Customer Experience, Data Analytics, and Supplier/Partner Cost Management. Steve's areas of personal expertise include Software Engineering Methodology and Management, Signaling Systems, Circuit and Packet Switching Systems, Billing Systems, Customer Care Systems, Business Process Transformation, as well as three decades serving in senior executive positions and consulting to boards and C-level executives for such matters as venture capital funding, merger/acquisition, technology strategy, and business operational transformation..
Tony Poulos

Tony Poulos, Market Strategist
tpoulos@tmforum.org

Tony has been involved with software development and systems integration in travel and telecommunications for over 20 years. He was involved in the development of convergent billing system in the early nineties in Australia and from there he worked in a business development role with Unisys’ Telecommunications Practice in Europe. He was co-founder of Copernicus Global Billing Services, a London based, web-enabled, managed service provider for outsourced billing and payments collection. He has experience in the areas of revenue assurance, billing, payments, mobile internet access, mobile email and content delivery. In addition to being a regular speaker and chairman at telco conferences in Europe and Asia-Pacific, he has worked as a consultant, been a Contributing Analyst for IDC, written for a number of industry publications worldwide, was Editor, Asia Pacific for Telecom TV and now Anchor for The Telecom Channel. Tony was an executive of the Global Billing Association for five years prior to its merger with the TM Forum. He headed up the Revenue Management Initiative of the TM Forum and is now the TM Forum's Market Strategist. Tony also conducts training classes in billing and revenue management and is Editor of Inside Revenue Management.

 

Areas of expertise
Revenue Management – Billing – Payments – Mobile internet access – Mobile email – Content delivery
Rob Rich

Robert Rich, Managing Director, TM Forum Insights Research
rrich@tmforum.org

Robert J. (Rob) Rich is Managing Director of the TM Forum's Transformation Research Center, and TM Forum Insights Group, the Forum's market research arm.  In this position, he is responsible for all facets of the TRC and Insights, and is a regular contributor to the Research portfolio.

Rob Rich has more than 15 years experience in market research and consulting, including 2 years as an independent consultant, 11 years as Executive Vice President of Communications & Networking Research & Consulting for the Yankee Group, and 2 years as Director of Communications Equipment and Services at Dataquest, a research firm subsequently acquired by Gartner Group.  In each role, he was responsible for research and consulting on both fixed and wireless network services, equipment, and software for service providers, technology suppliers, and investors. He has also managed research groups covering enterprise networking and enterprise IT applications.

Prior to joining Dataquest, Rob Rich spent 17 years in the computer/networking industry, where he held management positions in communications, professional services, software engineering and information technology strategy. He also served as CIO for a mid-sized retail firm, and divisional systems and programming director for a very large financial services firm.

Rob Rich has extensive knowledge of various aspects of telecommunications.  He is a former member of the Advisory Board for the TM Forum, a contributor to industry publications, a frequent speaker at industry conferences, and has served as an expert witness in industry litigation. Rob Rich holds a B.A. in mathematics, and has completed executive programs at the Sloan School, Massachusetts Institute of Technology and INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.

Areas of expertise
Analysis - Transformation - Research - Industry issues and trends - Litigation - Fixed and wireless network services - Equipment and software - IT strategy 
Rebecca Sendel Rebecca Sendel, Director, Collaboration Product Management

rsendel@tmforum.org

Rebecca Sendel is the Director of Collaboration Product Management for the TM Forum. Rebecca has worked in the communications industry for over 20 years focusing on operational and business support systems for the majority of her career. For the last 10 years, she has held leadership positions in product management and marketing at TM Forum. Prior to the TM Forum she was with software supplier, Astracon, and spent nine years with Motorola’s wireless infrastructure division. Rebecca holds a BS in Electrical Engineering from Lehigh University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management.

Areas of expertise
TM Forum – management of communications and information services – TM Forum best practices and standards – Frameworx