FROM THE INDUSTRY
How have things been going since we were last in touch? It’s been quite a journey! We’ve come a long way over the past two to three years. We’ve really refocused on what we do best – glass, optical fibre, optical fibre cables and optical connectivity. That’s our core, and we’ve built everything around that foundation. Within this focus, we’ve identified four key pillars for future growth. First is glass fibre and cable, where we’re one of the very few companies that does everything end-to-end, from making our own glass through to the final product. Second is connectivity solutions – you may recall during our last conversation, that we acquired a company in Italy. We’ve fully integrated that business and expanded it globally, which has been fantastic. Plus I hear data centres are becoming a major focus? Absolutely! The third pillar is our data centre business, which is probably going to be a significant growth area. We’ve developed AI-led, data centre solutions that address not just the hyperscalers but also edge data centres. We’ve launched this business in India and the Middle East through distributors, we’re actively supplying customers in the US, and after this show, hopefully in Europe too. To be clear, you’re providing equipment for data centres rather than owning them? Exactly. We provide speciality cables, optical fibre, and optical connectivity solutions – everything inside and outside data centres. It’s incredibly lucrative, especially with the AI boom. The demand is increasing exponentially. Data centres are evolving too – hyperscalers are being spread out into smaller configurations, and we’re creating solutions for all of it. That must be keeping you busy with travel? I’m literally living out of a suitcase! Since taking over as CEO about a year ago, I’ve been spending half my time in the US, which is our biggest market. We have a factory in Lugoff, South Carolina – a completely greenfield project we built from scratch. It’s now at full capacity with almost
“Tell us what your challenges are,” and we create an entire end-to-end solution. That’s our USP, we co-create and co-develop with our customers so that our solutions are on-point for them That sounds very reactive to customer needs. You must have an extensive R&D department? We do, but the key is maintaining agility as we’ve grown. My number one challenge is ensuring we don’t lose the flexibility we had as a smaller organisation. I’d hate to hear that someone provided a solution faster than us – that’s what keeps me awake at night! We attract a lot of young minds and new talent, which pushes us to do things faster. We have strong campus engagement programs now operating in India, Europe, and the US. We don’t just hire from campuses – we co-create solutions with them. For example, with our Multi-core Fibre, we worked with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chennai, bringing in their students to work with our R&D teams.
200 people working there. It’s truly inspiring to see what we’ve accomplished.
And home is still London? Yes, though my wife sometimes doubts that! London’s been home for at least seven years now. It gives me the perfect position to manage between India and the US – access to both time zones and easy travel. Our factory in Italy has been expanding as well. We now have probably the largest passive connectivity factory in Europe. It’s massive – producing copper, optical fibre cables, and connectivity solutions all in one facility. What differentiates you from your competitors? Instead of diversifying into very different fields like some competitors have, we’ve stayed true to our core. We’re in the business of optical networking and connectivity, providing anything and everything around passive connectivity for digital infrastructure build. When we approach customers, we don’t just sell them a cable and tell them to buy connectivity elsewhere. We go in and say,
Volume 47 No.4 DECEMBER 2025
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