Barry Edwards - Managing Director

Barry's career has been defined by his passion to overcome the obstacles that stand between customer benefits and the products or services on offer.  Starting as an apprentice with BT in the late 1970s, Barry received a full grounding in the broad aspects of the telecomms industry as it stood at that time. With an eye to the future, Barry beat a path into BT’s Specialist Data Services Group, where he rose through the technical ranks until the point where “years served” limited further opportunities and promotion. A overseas role with Cable & Wireless in Bahrain, swiftly followed, where he helped to develop the company’s emerging data services business on top of their traditional voice and telex operations.

His break into the commercial world of IT networking came with his return to UK where he was appointed as the primary Sales Support Engineer for Case Communications’ Global Banking Division. Thrust into a world where he was required to negotiate with some of the most powerful networking professionals of that era, it opened his eyes to what could be achieved – and indeed what he was capable of achieving.

A short trip to Moscow that immediately turned a minor business opportunity into the foundation of the Company’s extensive Russian operation accelerated his move into a sales role, this time pioneering Case's Middle East business based out of Saudi Arabia.  The following years tested and extended his business skills as he re-engineered a number of Case's international country operations and successfully established the company’s first European subsidiary in France.

Barry’s next real period of growth came at StrataCom, where he pitted the US Company’s proprietary frame switching system against the far larger and well-established giants of telecoms and IT. Building long-term, multi-million pound backbone deployments in the UK and across Europe, Barry broadened and extended his experience whilst continuing to focus on customer requirements, where he found that finding a way to meet them inevitably provided a springboard to further success.

Having left StrataCom prior to its acquisition by Cisco Systems, Barry then moved to another US company in an early-to-mid life transitional stage - FORE Systems. An intense first year was spent as UK Sales Manager where he transformed the in-country business model and led a team to foundational success against long-term, incumbent competitors. Success in the UK led to relocation to Japan with a remit to revitalise the company's business in the region. As President of FORE Systems Japan Barry moulded his team and rebuilt the business from the ground up, whilst accelerating user acceptance. Identifying Korea as a key market, he steered his team to success in major government projects, paving the way for massive growth, through FORE’s acquisition by Marconi, which made further complimentary products available to the market.

Two years after the acquisition Barry left Marconi Japan to provide his energy and business skills to a global charity that he had assisted in the region. A short period in Cambodia was followed by a 3 year move to Philadelphia, USA from where Barry led aspects of the business into extensive relationships with Governmental Aid agencies, the World Bank, United Nations and others. Barry remains an active Board member of the charity.

Since returning to UK in 2006 Barry has stayed connected with the industry that he knows and thrives in through his business consultancy roles in Biometrics, Database Service Delivery and IT Networking companies.

Barry, views his appointment at SpliceCom to be the high point of an exhilarating ride in the communications industry. “Having learnt my skills from the very best leaders in a multitude of disciplines. I now get to utilise them within a company that clearly has the most intuitive, future proofed, IP based communications platform in the market. A company that continues to add ever more visionary applications to meet customers ever evolving needs. A company built around a committed, talented and experienced team. A company delivering great functionality, alongside superior service. A company working in partnership with the broad SpliceCom Community and their customers. What could be more exciting? concludes Edwards.”