The AfricaCom Awards are independently scrutinised and awarded by our panel of leading authorities in African telecoms

The AfricaCom Awards 2011 will be judged by:

Dobek Pater, Analyst & Director, Africa Analysis
Dobek Pater is Analyst & Director at Africa Analysis. He has over 10 years’ experience in the telecoms industry and is currently a telecommunications market analyst with Africa= Analysis, working on a wide range of projects in Africa for a diverse client base. His previous experience includes working for a South African fibre-optic cabling and systems integration company, later joining BMI-TechKnowledge in the capacity of a telecommunications analyst, and a short stint in the consumer product research field.

Jean-Pierre Bienaimé, Chairman - Permanent Member, UMTS Forum
Jean-Pierre Bienaimé has been Chairman of the UMTS Forum since January 2003. Joining France Telecom (FT) in 1979, his responsibilities included financial management and planning at national and regional level. He has also served as Advisor to the General Director of Moroccan Telecommunications, Director of Marketing and Product Development for international business networks & services at FT, Director of Business Development and Subsidiaries at France Cables & Radio, Chief Executive Officer of Nexus International, and Director of International Development at France Telecom Mobiles. As Group Technical Support Director at Orange, he provided networks and IT support to the business units and mobile affiliates worldwide, and contributed to rebranding and franchising programmes.

Matthew Reed, Senior Analyst, Informa Telecoms & Media
Matthew Reed is a senior analyst with Informa Telecoms & Media and head of mobile research for the Middle East and Africa. He is responsible for ITM’s data and written research for the region, which includes detailed coverage of local markets. Matthew’s research interests include operator strategy within the MEA region as well as network and regulatory developments. Matthew is a regular speaker and moderator at industry conferences in the region. He also regularly comments on industry developments for local and international media.

Russell Southwood, Chief Executive, Balancing Act
Russell Southwood is the Chief Executive, Balancing Act, a consultancy and online publishing company specialising in telecoms, Internet and broadcasting in Africa. His consultancy work has included: an assessment of two different sectors in the TV market in Africa; an assessment of the transition to digital broadcasting in over 20 African countries; an appraisal of an investment in a wireless broadband operator; and a study on Open Access models. He is also the co-author of Balancing Act’s African Broadcast and Film Markets and African Satellite Markets.

Thomas Yieke, Executive VP and COO, Rick Broadman Partners
Thomas Yieke is the Executive VP and co-founder of Rick Broadman Partners a PAN Africa wide Telcommuincations Investment and managed services organization. He is a seasoned business executive, with over 14 years of work experience in some of the world’s leading Technology companies. Thomas has a unique distinction having worked with 4 of the leading Fortune 50 companies in the world and prior to co-founding Rick Broadman Partners, he led the business division for converged services in Business Development and Enterprise sales of a leading sub Saharan GSM teleco operator. During his career, Thomas has provided business and ICT for development advice to many business leaders, including country policy makers, ministers, Prime Ministers and even Presidents. Among some of his key achievements was leading and hosting of several African ICT Ministers during the NOBEL Global Price events in Norway in 2005 and 2006.

Vitalis Olunga, Chairman, GSMA Africa
Vitalis has been the Chairman GSM Africa since 2004. He is a telecommunications industry consultant in technical, leadership and management; formulation of ICT policy; and licensing and regulatory frameworks in the region. He also spent 7 years as Head of Regulatory & Public Policy at Safaricom Limited, Kenya, and was Head of International & Wholesale Business at the same firm until 2010. He has 29 years experience in telecommunication industry; expert knowledge in satellite communications engineering, microwave radio, and cellular mobile telephony, and held various engineering and management levels at former Kenya Posts & Telecommunications Corporation and Telkom Kenya Limited. He has been a key note speaker in GSM Africa conferences and speaker in a number of ITU & CTO Forums for Africa. He holds BSc (Electrical Engineering) and MBA (Strategic Management)
both from the University of Nairobi, and [PhD] at the same University. Vitalis has multidisciplinary postgraduate space studies from International Space University (ISU 1990) at the Institute of Space and Terrestrial Sciences, York University Toronto. A member of: Institution of Engineers of Kenya and Engineers Registration Board of Kenya.

Michèle Scanlon, Director & Principal Analyst, Indian Atlantic
Michèle Scanlon, Director & Principal Consultant, Indian Atlantic, Michèle has been consulting in emerging markets for almost 15 years focusing on commercial strategies & prepaid services in particular. Michèle has worked extensively in Nigeria since 2003, and is currently focusing on commercial rollout of a WiMAX network, developing mobile money opportunities and deploying churn management strategies in a multiSIM environment. Established in 2010, Indian Atlantic is the merger of Green Giraffe and Capstone, two South African-based consulting practices. Building on their combined strengths and client references, Indian Atlantic provides strategic advisory & management services, project implementation and related software solutions to the African and Middle East telecoms and financial sector. Core focus areas include advising greenfield and business turnaround opportunities in terms of commercial development, technical advice, business processes, fund raising and business modelling. Michèle can be contacted at michele.scanlon@indianatlantic.com.

Thecla Mbongue, Senior Research Analyst, Informa Telecoms & Media
Thecla is a senior research analyst within Informa Telecoms & Media's Industry Research division and is a key contributor to Informa's World Cellular Information Service, World Broadband Information Service and Intelligence Centre. In her role, Thecla is responsible for researching the telecoms industry in sub-Saharan Africa. Thecla also manages World cellular Data Metrics, in which Informa tracks mobile data usage and up-take, including SMS and MMS traffic volumes, mobile data/broadband subscriber information, MMSC contract awards, mobile data deployments and non-voice revenues. A native French speaker, Thecla is a regular speaker and moderator at international conferences in Africa and is regularly quoted in the regional and global business press.

Find out more about the categories and entering to win an award