Philippe Vanhille

Philippe Vanhille has been Executive Vice President Telecom Division since May 2013. After graduating in Mechanical Engineering in Lyon (France) in 1989, he began his career as a Research Engineer for Renault Formula 1 development, and then moved to the cable industry joining Alcatel Cable in 1991. Over the past 20 years, Mr Vanhille has held a number of positions in the Operations and General Management areas within the cable industry for Alcatel and Draka, followed by roles in the Energy, Copper Telecom and Optical Fibre sectors. At the time of the Prysmian merger, he was head of Draka’s Global Optical Fibre Business Unit and he held the same position within Prysmian Group until his appointment as Executive VP Telecom Business.

Antoni Bosch

Antoni Bosch is currently Senior Vice President of Telecom Solutions Business Unit within Prysmian Group since 2013. Mr Bosch also has been Board member of the FTTH Council Europe since 2016-20. With more than 30 years’ experience in the telecom industry he has a proven track record of business achievements and experience mainly in sales, marketing and business management in an international environment. In his current position hold a unique global view of the worldwide telecom market, dealing with the major telecom operators worldwide. Managing a business with a strong footprint in Europe, Americas and APAC regions. Mr Bosch holds a MSc degree in Telecommunications Engineering by Polytechnic University of Catalonia (Barcelona) with an MBA from Esade Business School (Barcelona)and an Executive PDG from Iese Business School (Barcelona) and SDA Bocconi (Milan). He joined Prysmian in 1998 and since then he has developed his professional career within the telecom business holding several positions as Business Manager and Sales & Marketing Director. Before joining Prysmian Mr Bosch worked in the telecom sector as a Consultant and Head of Systems of the Air Traffic Control Center of Barcelona Airport.

John McGirr

John McGirr is senior vice president and general manager, Optical Fiber and Cable, Corning Incorporated since July 2022. In this role, Mr McGirr is responsible for developing and executing strategies that secure the long-term profitable growth of Corning’s optical fiber and cable business. Prior to his current role, he served as senior vice president, Global Manufacturing, Corning Incorporated; division vice president, Manufacturing, Corning Optical Connectivity business; division vice president, Manufacturing & Supply Chain Operations, Corning Life Sciences; director, Manufacturing Excellence, Corning Incorporated; and various engineering, operations, and leadership roles. Prior to joining Corning, Mr McGirr served as a Submarine Warfare Officer in the U.S. Navy, and a project engineer for Mobil Oil Company. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He served as a board member of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

Dr Zhuang Dan

Dr Zhuang Dan obtained his Ph.D. in Accounting from Zhongnan University of Economics and Law in June 1998 and obtained the postdoctoral certificate in Business Administration from Shanghai University of Finance and Economics in April 2001. Dr Dan is now the Executive Director and President of Yangtze Optical Fibre and Cable Joint Stock Limited Company and a member of People’s Congress of Hubei Province.

Jan Bongaerts

Jan Bongaerts serves as the Senior Vice President of YOFC where he is responsible for strategic business development. Mr Bongaerts has 25 years of experience in the optical fiber and cable industry and prior to his assignment at YOFC in 2013 he worked in various management functions at Prysmian, Draka and Philips. He holds a Bachelor degree in business administration from The Open University the Netherlands, a Master degree in Business Administration from Tilburg University the Netherlands and an Executive MBA degree from Ottawa University Canada. Mr Bongaerts is currently a doctor candidate at the International School of Management in Paris France.

Aislin Sullivan

Aislin Sullivan joined Corning in 2005 and is currently the Program Director of Sustainability for the   Optical Communications business. Ms Sullivan holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Tecnologico de Monterrey and a master’s degree in Business from EGADE Business School in Mexico. She is named inventor on 2 issued US patents. Ms Sullivan has worked in multiple roles in Corning leading Engineering and Manufacturing organizations, Innovation Programs and Business Strategy. 

Seán Adam

Seán Adam is Vice President of Market Strategy and Innovation at AFL. Mr Adam holds a master's degree in Electric Engineering from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has over 25 years of experience in the Semiconductor and Telecom industry with a focus on system-based solutions and architectures. He holds over 15 patents across software and hardware systems and products. Today, Mr Adam is focused on developing and guiding AFL's overall growth strategy in the key markets we serve.

Massimo Arciulo

After graduating in mathematical economics at the University of Rome La Sapienza, Arciulo started his career in 1989 in Telecom Italia, covering since then several roles in Italian and multinational companies such as TIM, Ipse, Alitalia, Wind, Vimpelcom, Poste Italiane, merging his math and logic skills with a continue orientation to business development. From March 2020 he was again inTIM as Chief Data Officer, applying philosophical studies for executing TIM’s Revenue Data Architecture to enable CVM development through Deep Learning execution. With an expertise of more than 30 years in technological industries, in 2022 Arciulo has been appointed as Ceo of the Linkem Group in expanding the wholesale market after the merge and acquisition the Linkem Retail into Tiscali. Under his guidance in October 2022 Linkem became Opnet, with the new mission of offering neutral access to the Company’s 5G Network to other Telcos and – besides them - to other industrial players interested in the construction of private networks and in the diffusion of service vertical applications.

Dr Jan Vydra

Dr Jan Vydra graduated in physics from Darmstadt Technical University and focused during his PhD thesis on integrated waveguide optics at the Deutsche Telekom Research Center. Dr Vydra joined Heraeus in 1997 where he worked as R&D Project Manager on various fiber optic and other optical product innovations. He was then responsible in various sales, marketing and business development positions. Since the end of 2018 Dr Vydra is the president of Heraeus Comvance, one of the world's leading quartz glass manufacturers for fiber optics, telecommunications and specialty applications.

Babatunde Akindele (Tunde)

Babatunde Akindele (Tunde) leads Strategy Development for Global Network and Technology at Verizon. He is responsible for developing technology strategies to ensure Verizon maintains its network and technology leadership. He has led strategy and innovation management across industry verticals within the company, helping to develop several breakthrough business concepts. Tunde has held responsibilities for deal negotiation, growth strategy, strategic planning, corporate venturing and M&A evaluation within Verizon over the past decade. Prior to Verizon, Tunde worked with IXL Center, where he helped fortune 100 corporations develop strategies and commercialize innovative business concepts. Tunde previously held regional leadership role in a multinational telecommunication provider in Nigeria, successfully designing sales expansion strategies, and leading significant business turnaround initiatives. Tunde sits on the Advisory Board of the Global Innovation Management Institute, and he is the North America Co-Chair of the GSMA 5G IoT for Manufacturing Forum. Tunde is passionate about leadership, he is a leadership trainer / coach, and a frequent speaker at innovation management and VC events. In addition, he spends time mentoring startups and small businesses.

Anna Marciszewska-Jankowska

Anna Marciszewska-Jankowska, Director for International Trade Affairs in Optomer, began her career in 2010 after graduating Faculty of Electronics and Telecommunications of Poznan University of Technology as M. Sc. Eng. in Telecommunication. Together with her team, she is responsible for building professional business relationships with partners from all over the world by developing new passive fibre optic solutions from idea through to design, manufacturing, testing, then introducing to the market.

Li Yunbo

Li Yunbo  received Master Degree from the China Academy of Telecommunication Technologies in 2000. Mr Li is the senior engineer (Professor) and deputy director of optical transmission network at China Mobile Research Institute. He is an expert in charge of the research of Optical Transport Network (OTN) technology applications, setting specifications, promoting the deployment of 100G and 400G OTN/WDM technology, and new types of optical fiber and network intelligence. Mr Li has written 3 books, more than 30 authorized patents, submitted 20 standard manuscripts, and published more than 40 papers.

Andy Whale

Andy Whale is Openreach’s Technical Design Authority and responsible for the engineering standards of our network. Mr Whale leads a team of 9,000 people responsible for all of Openreach’s civils and poling as well as delivering the Rural FTTP programmes for Openreach which is currently building to 1.3m premises this year alone. He’s spent most of his career at BT in various engineering and operational roles. Mr Whale has extensive knowledge and operational experience in network transformation and all aspects of copper and fibre, as well as core and transmission networks.

Wang Guangquan

Wang Guangquan is a professor and senior engineer of China Unicom, focusing on the research, planning and design of telecommunication networks. Mr Wang obtained the 2nd Class Prize of the State Scientific and Technological Progress Awards, and over 30 national, ministerial and provincial awards in China. He has also won the WSIS Prize 2019 (catalog 5) co-organized by ITU, UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD. Mr Wang is now the chief engineer of China Unicom Research Institute.

Dr Peter A. Weimann

Dr Peter A. Weimann is the Chief Technology Officer of HFCL’s Optical Fibre and Cable Business Unit, currently based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. His responsibilities include leading product and process development for optical fibre and cable within the HFCL Group. Dr Weimann has over 24 years’ experience in the fibre and cable industry, starting as a materials development engineer with Lucent Technologies’ Bell Labs, Norcross, Georgia, USA. His technical work has included development of new materials for optical cables, design of cables for Outside Plant, FTTH and data centre applications, and evaluation of the cabled performance of novel optical fibres. Prior to joining the HFCL Group, Dr Weimann was Director of Optical Cable Research & Development – North America at OFS Fitel, LLC, Carrollton, Georgia, USA. Dr Weimann holds bachelor’s degrees in Materials Science & Engineering and Organizational Management from the University of Pennsylvania, and a Ph.D. in Materials Science & Engineering from the University of Minnesota. He has been an invited speaker at the Optoelectronics & Communications Conference and is a 2-time co-recipient of the Spergel Award for Best Paper from the International Cable & Connectivity Symposium. Dr Weimann holds 49 patents related to optical fibre cable technology.

Wu Guangzhe

Wu Guangzhe , Senior Project Manager of SGIT. Mr Wu obtained his Master degree from the University of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. He has been engaged in the construction of UHV and cross regional power grid projects. Mr Wu has successively participated in the construction of HuaiNan-Nanjing-Shanghai 1000kV UHV AC, Yuheng-Weifang 1000kV UHV AC, Northern Shaanxi-Hubei ± 800kV UHV DC, Baihetan-Jiangsu ± 800kV UHV DC, Central Tibet power interconnection project, etc. He is responsible for the construction and management of system communication projects and has won many honorary titles such as ‘advanced individual’ in UHV construction of SGCC. His research interests include electric communication network construction, ultra-long-distance optical transmission, new optical fiber and cable, distributed optical fiber sensing, etc.

Dr Volker Wendt

Dr Volker Wendt has been appointed Secretary-General of Europacable in January 2021. Europacable is the association of Europe’ leading wire and cable manufacturers, working to enable Europe’s decarbonisation and digitalisation. In addition, Volker is also serving as Secretary-General and Executive Director of the International Cablemakers Federation (ICF). Dr Wendt has over 20 years of experience in European Public Affairs. As Europacable’s Director of Public Affairs, he led the association’s EU policy engagements covering energy, telecommunication, environmental and industrial issues. Before joining Europacable, Dr Wendt spent 10 years with Burson-Marsteller, a leading public affairs firm. As Director and Deputy Chairman of the EMEA Energy Team, he developed and led public affairs campaigns in Brussels and across Europe. On a pro-bono basis, Dr Wendt served as Director to the European Fire Academy, EFA, a network of senior European fire officers. Dr Wendt holds a Ph.D. in International Relations from the University of Passau, Germany.

Adrian Amezcua Correa

Adrian Amezcua Correa Global Technical Sales Support, Telecom Solutions at Prysmian Group. Mr Amezcua Correa received a B.S in Telecommunications Engineering from the National University of Mexico and holds a PhD in Optical Fibres from the Optoelectronics Research Centre at the University of Southampton. He holds various patents in optical fibres and more than 50 publications in the field. In 2008, Amezcua Correa joined Prysmian Group Optical Fibre R&D where he worked on the development of optical fibres for telecom and specialty applications. He has had various roles in optical systems product management.

Vincent Garnier

Vincent Garnier is the Director General of the FTTH Council Europe since July 2020. In this executive capacity, Mr Garnier manages and shapes the FTTH Council’s agenda and ensures the continuous implementation of its mission to advance ubiquitous full fibre-based connectivity to the whole of Europe. Mr Garnier brings to this position 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry, in Marketing and Business Development in EMEA and Asia for BtoB companies. Most recently he was Marketing Director responsible for defining the marketing strategies for the broadband solutions at CommScope, a global network infrastructure provider company. Prior to joining CommScope, Mr Garnier worked in international business development at TKH Group N.V. and as a Marketing Manager at Prysmian Group & Exide Technologies. Mr Garnier has been actively involved in the FTTH Council Europe activities for several years. He became a Member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer in 2019.

David De Craemer

David De Craemer joined CommScope through the acquisition of TE Connectivity Broadband Networks Solutions (BNS) business in August of 2015. Mr De Craemer started with the company in August 1997 and performed various operations roles in the Telecom Networks plants of Kessel-Lo (Belgium), Greensboro (NC, USA) and Valencia (Spain). In 2004 he joined the BNS business finance team and held positions as Global FP&A Manager, Business Unit and Operations Controller. Under CommScope, he took a career switch to the role of VP Product Line Management in the Networks Connectivity group. Mr De Craemer currently bundles his built-up expertise in the position of VP EMEA - Network Cable & Connectivity. Mr De Craemer holds a bachelor's degree in Economics and Operations Management from the Leuven University, Belgium and successfully concluded a finance excellence major at Furman University, SC USA. He is based in Belgium.

Taketoshi Takahata

Taketoshi Takahata is Manager of the Optical Device Technology division. Mr Takahata received a B.A. in mechanical engineering from Kanazawa Institute of Technology, Ishikawa, Japan, in 1998. He joined Oyokoden Laboratories Co., Ltd. in 1998. In 2001, Mr Takahata joined Oputoquest Co. Ltd., Saitama, Japan, where he has been engaged in the development of advanced optical devices for multi-core fibers and few-mode fibers.

Valerie De Houwer

Valerie De Houwer graduated as a Master in Chemical Engineering, with a minor in Environmental Engineering at KU Leuven. There she specialized in the recovery of critical metals from landfilled metallurgical residues, with a consequential scientific publication. Inspired by this experience, Ms De Houwer joined Umicore in 2018 where she now assumes the function of Process & Product Development Manager in the Germanium team and is responsible for the efficient and ecological processing of a variety of recycling streams.

Hans Damsgaard

Hans Damsgaard is VP Marketing & Sales for OFS Specialty Photonics. He holds a masters in experimental atomic physics from University of Aarhus, and an industrial PhD from Technical University of Denmark as well as a Diploma in Economics and International Management from Copenhagen Business School. Previously Mr Damsgaard has been Director in Lucent Technologies and located in New Jersey, and since 2000 on the executive management board of OFS Fitel Denmark – and Managing Director 2007-2018. In 2018 he got responsibility for global M&S for OFS Specialty business.

Rahul Puri

Rahul Puri heads STL sales in the Europe region. Mr Puri has around 20 years of experience in technology and telecom and has earlier worked with Apple, Samsung, LG, and Airtel.

Mohamed Nasr

Patrick Breinessl

Patrick Breinessl is a Product Manager for Fiber in Metal Tubes and Fiber Optic Cables at NBG, located at the NBG headquarters in Austria. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Electronics and Business and has experience in quality, project, and operations management in industrial and automotive productions. Strong business acumen with a focus on customer satisfaction complements his indepth technical knowledge of fiber optics and manufacturing processes.

Michael Finch

Michael Finch is Head of CRU’s Wire and Cable team and works across the full portfolio of products analyzing key trends and developments in both the metallic wire and cable, and optical fibre industries. Mr Finch is the editor of CRU’s Telecom Cables Market Outlook. He completed his undergraduate studies at Cardiff University where he attained a First Class degree with Honours in Geology. Mr Finch also holds an MSc in Mining Geology (Distinction) from Camborne School of Mines, University of Exeter.

Fabrizio Gradassi

Fabrizio Gradassi has been with Open Fiber since 2016 and was actively involved in the startup of this company. In the last 6 years, Mr Gradassi has developed the architecture of the network, developing over 100.000 km of fiber access and transport network. In the last 20 years, he worked on developing all kinds of fixed networks from copper to fiber, from access to transport and was also involved in developing design and construction teams. Furthermore, from 2015 Mr Gradassi collaborated with the Elis consortium for teaching training courses to over 300 fiber optic designers.

Noriyuki Kawanishi

Since Noriyuki Kawanishi joined Fujikura Ltd. in 1991, he had been working mainly for Precision Equipment Division (main product is splicer), growing the said division‘s business as Unit Head. In April 2022, Mr Kawanishi has been assigned as Corporate Officer of Telecommunication Business Unit, responsible for the entire telecommunication business.

Alain Giraud

Alain Giraud is Director of Sales & Marketing at Rosendahl Nextrom. Mr Giraud is responsible for the Fiber and Optical Cable markets, global accounts and member of the board of the subsidiaries in various countries. He held several management positions in the group and has cumulated over 30 years of business experience in the Fiber, Cable, Pipe and Specialty Fiber industries. Mr Giraud graduated from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) in IT & Telecommunications.

Jan Schindler

Jan Schindler is Global Market Intelligence Manager at Prysmian Group – the world’s leading cable manufacturing company in the energy and telecom cable systems industry. With over 20 years of professional experience in telecommunications, market research, and business consulting, Mr Schindler has a proven track record of developing successful strategic and competitive positioning campaigns for leading technology companies. These include Draka Communications, SSA Global Technologies, and the Baan Company. He contributed to FTTH Council Europe activity as Chairman of its Market Intelligence Committee from 2008- April 2018 and was elected Board Member of the FTTH Council Europe in May 2020. Mr Schindler was also Board Member of FTTH Council MENA from 2015 – 2020 and contributes as Chairman of its Market Intelligence/Development Committee. He holds a MS degree in Business Engineering from the University of Applied Sciences Zittau, Germany, and a Bachelor degree in International Business from Oslo University College, Norway.

Martin Boettcher