TM Forum CEO awarded Industry Champion of the Year by The Fast Mode
The Fast Mode, a leading independent media, research, and analysis platform serving the telecoms and technology community, has recognized TM Forum CEO Nik Willetts as “Industry Champion of the Year” at its inaugural awards program, The Fast Mode Awards 2025.
The program celebrates outstanding contributions across the worldwide telecom sector, honoring the organizations and leaders advancing connectivity, digital transformation, and industry-wide innovation.
The Leadership Excellence category recognizes individuals whose vision and execution have significantly shaped the telecom industry. The award for Industry Champion of the Year highlighted individuals demonstrating exceptional industry-wide impact. This accolade celebrates Nik’s ambition and influence in driving TM Forum to disrupt legacy models and ignite transformation for its 800+ member organizations.
Over recent years, with Nik at the helm, TM Forum has:
- Grown and reshaped its Membership to include the world’s largest CSPs, hyperscalers and technology vendors, and market-beating membership retention rates.
- Expanded the Forum’s remit from Composable IT to also lead the industry on Autonomous Networks and AI and Data.
- Achieved 1.1 million Open API downloads, representing huge impact on cost, velocity, customer experience and new revenue opportunities for Members.
- Doubled the size of its flagship DTW Ignite conference, making it a “must-attend”, according to industry leaders.
- Delivered dozens of ground-breaking Catalyst projects involving hundreds of Member companies and thousands of industry professionals.
- Elevated TM Forum’s reputation as the trusted advisor and collaboration platform for the global telecoms’ ecosystem.
“This recognition belongs to our members and team, whose commitment and creativity are driving real change. Together, we’re reimagining legacy telco and ushering in AI-native transformation to get our industry back to growth – in shareholder value, and purpose. I’m honoured to play a part in this journey – but we’re not done. We’ll keep challenging the status quo and pushing boundaries to help our industry thrive,” said Nik Willetts, CEO, TM Forum.
“The telecom industry is entering one of its most pivotal eras, shaped by AI-driven operations, cloud-native networks, and the rapid convergence of connectivity and digital services. The leaders recognized in our Leadership Excellence categories represent the visionaries who are not only anticipating these shifts but who are actively architecting the future. Their ability to align technology, talent, and transformation at scale is what sets them apart,” said M Prushothma Rao, Founder of The Fast Mode.
About TM Forum
TM Forum is an alliance of over 800 organizations spanning the global connectivity ecosystem, including the world’s top ten Communication Service Providers (CSPs), top three hyperscalers and Network Equipment Providers (NEPs), vendors, consultancies and system integrators, large and small.
We provide a place for our Members to collaborate, innovate, and deliver lasting change. Together, we are building a sustainable future for the industry in connectivity and beyond.
To find out more, visit: www.tmforum.org
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Katy Branson
Head of Communications
TM Forum