X3T makes high profile board appointments following Strategic Imperatives merger

Former BT Group and Salesforce executive Gavin Patterson among new directors leading the company's growth plan

LONDON, Feb. 27, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- X3T, the services and technology company on a mission to empower connections between AltNets and Internet Service Providers (ISPs), has welcomed a string of high profile board appointments following its recent merger with Strategic Imperatives, the UK market leader in SaaS provisioning, connectivity and monetisation solutions for the telecom industry.

Gavin Patterson, who led BT Group from 2013-2019 as CEO and served as a board director for 11 years before becoming President of Salesforce between 2019-2023, predominantly as Chief Revenue Officer, joins the X3T board. Patterson brings a wealth of experience not only in the burgeoning UK fibre market, but also in the strategy and implementation of global leading enterprise software solutions. 

Commenting on his appointment, Patterson said: "The UK and European fibre markets have become a highly competitive landscape. While constructing new fibre infrastructure is a critical first step, the key to achieving ubiquitous high-speed connectivity will be to empower network operators and service providers to work together to scale customer connections.

"X3T's recent merger with industry leader, Strategic Imperatives, creates an exciting opportunity to establish Strategic Imperatives' Fibre Café platform as the number one unified interface to the fibre ecosystem, and further expand its industry leading billing platform, Elevate. The telecoms industry has been operating with siloed infrastructure and legacy technologies for too long, and the joint forces of X3T and Strategic Imperatives is demonstrating how software can solve some of the industry's biggest challenges and unlock competitive advantage."

Derek McManus, who served as Chief Operating Officer at Telefonica UK (O2) for over a decade, leading a team of 2,500 professionals responsible for network, IT, customer service, business transformation and customer operations, also joins the X3T board. As an Operating Partner at one of X3T's investors, Asterion Industrial Partners, McManus brings nearly 40 years of telecom experience to the role.

McManus added: "European fibre rollouts are at a critical moment as network infrastructure expands at a rapid pace thanks to commercial investment and Government incentives. To make this investment in fibre pay off, it's imperative that solutions are in place to maximise the utilisation of these state-of-the art networks, and that means finding ways to improve network operators' ability to integrate with service providers at scale to drive end-customer take-up. X3T and Strategic Imperatives have both progressed to be the industry leaders, innovating with software that supports provisioning, connectivity and monetisation, and I'm delighted to have the opportunity to support their ambitious growth plans at this exciting juncture."

Thomas P. O'Neill, the founder and Chief Executive of O'Neill and Associates, a leading US-based public relations and government affairs consulting firm, is also appointed to the board. A former state legislator and Lieutenant Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, O'Neill brings five decades of leadership experience working across the public and private sectors.

O'Neill commented: "Europe has raced ahead of the United States in delivering future-proofed open-access telecom networks, and as X3T and Strategic Imperatives start to bring their expertise to global markets, such as America, I'm looking forward to helping the team to seize these opportunities." 

X3T is chaired by telecoms entrepreneur, David McCourt, Founder and Chairman of Granahan McCourt Capital. McCourt concluded: "The appointment of Gavin, Derek and Tom further demonstrates our ambition and commitment to deliver for our loyal and growing customer base. It's hard to find so much telecom, software, regulatory and operating experience in three people, and we are very fortunate to have the opportunity to welcome them to our team as we accelerate our investment and rollout of industry leading solutions to improve the fibre ecosystem."

About X3T

Established by worldwide telecom investors, Granahan McCourt Capital, X3T launched in 2022 with financial backing from Asterion Industrial Partners, Oak Hill Advisors, Tetrad and Twin Point Capital.

With pioneering Software-as-a-Service solutions, X3T is unlocking opportunities across the telecoms industry, helping infrastructure investors, network operators and Internet Service Providers to capitalise on the prosperous trend towards open access wholesale.

Visit: www.x3t.com

About Strategic Imperatives

Strategic Imperatives is the UK market leader in SaaS provisioning, connectivity and monetisation solutions for the telecom industry. Trusted by over 200 service providers to bill for a multitude of services and provision millions of fixed line and fibre connections, Strategic Imperatives has a proven track record in digital solutions that transform how customers do business.

Visit: www.imperatives.co.uk