Our leadership.

Adam Young.

Adam became Group Chief Executive Officer at Connect in January 2021, having formerly been the Group Chief Operating Officer. He has more than 25 years of leadership experience in the telecommunications industry, with hands-on experience in sales, customer service and project delivery.

As co-founder of two highly successful businesses, Genesis Telecommunication and G3 Communications, he adopted a consistent ethos of working closely with clients to help them apply technology to achieve their growth goals. That same ethos will underpin his direction as Group CEO, seeking to make Connect a long-term advisor to customers on their communications strategy.

Before moving into telecommunications, Adam spent 20 years in the world of professional sport and he uses that insight to shape a culture of team work to drive success.

Glen Robinson.

Glen is Connect’s Chief Operating Officer, responsible for exceeding customer expectations through effective operational execution, and for delivering profitable returns to all stakeholders through efficient organisation of people, processes and systems.

He has over 20 years’ experience in the IT sector, where he has held executive accountability for execution across the full quote to cash lifecycle, both Sales and Delivery side. He is passionate about building high performing cross-functional teams and promoting Connect’s positive culture to attain collective goals and a shared vision. He has a natural service delivery, sales and customer orientation and enjoys delivering mutually beneficial solutions that help our people, customers and partners to succeed.

Martin Cross.

Martin is our Group Strategy Officer, a role that allows his enthusiasm for communications technology to be shared between leading our own innovation, proposition development and M&A evaluation. He is responsible for developing our growth strategy, based on his unparalleled knowledge of the technology landscape and our clients’ requirements.

Martin first joined Connect in 2003 and has been a director of the business ever since, overseeing our growth through delivering high quality managed services, for the contact centre and unified communications. He was also involved in the development of our global network. He is passionate about finding simple, elegant solutions to complex communication problems.

Peter Francis.

Peter is Connect’s Group Chief Financial Officer, bringing to the role over three decades of experience overseeing the financial direction of our business. He began his career at Arthur Andersen and has since worked for some of the most successful technology companies in the UK, joining G3 Comms as CFO in 2017 and moving seamlessly into the same role at Connect.

In addition to the financial direction of Connect, Peter has strong commercial front office experience and M&A expertise.

Steven Fricker.

Steven is Connect’s Chief Revenue Officer, with responsibility for new business strategy and sales success. With over 15 years’ experience leading sales operations at different IT solution partners, he has an encyclopaedic knowledge of a wide range of vendors and technologies. He now puts that insight to use by developing solutions that combine products from across Connect’s broad portfolio, to fit customer needs.

His sales ethos is built around establishing long-term customer relationships, by ensuring that the experience of dealing with Connect is outstanding from the outset. That means going further to understand customer requirements and considering implementation, integration with legacy platforms and effective ongoing support as integral to the value we offer.

Ben Ramsdale.

Ben became Connect’s Chief Commercial Officer in 2022 following his tenure as Connect’s first General Counsel, reflecting the company’s growth and global status. As well as acting as the board adviser on all legal and compliance issues, Ben plays a key client-facing role, streamlining contractual negotiations and engaging with customers around key concerns such as adhering to data protection and global communications regulations.

Having completed an undergraduate degree in law at the Open University and a Master’s degree in international commercial law at UCL, Ben joined Connect in 2017 as Contracts Manager. He has subsequently been involved in negotiating many of Connect’s largest deals, played a key part in Connect’s M&A activities and has developed and implemented Connect’s legal and compliance strategy. Ben has now moved into the position of General Counsel and applies his pragmatic approach to running the Legal and Compliance Department in a way which delivers a competitive advantage for Connect.

Bruce Arnold.

Bruce is Connect South Africa’s CEO, responsible for steering the South African arm and their P&L. With over 25 years in business management and financial strategy, he has a proven track record of helping businesses of all sizes achieve their customer engagement and CX goals, while holding a steadfast commitment to steering his own business towards unprecedented levels of strategic success and distinction within the industry.

It started in 1993. After completing his BCom in accounting and economics, he quickly moved from strength to strength. Throughout his career, his commercial acumen and diverse skills have seen him grow businesses and profits through careful financial control and my ability to drive strategic initiatives. Bruce is a seasoned executive with a strong track record of building and scaling successful businesses. He has a deep understanding of the industry and a passion formulating and implementing strategic vision, that will both inspire and motivate his team, and delivering results.

Gert Swart.

Gert became the Group Chief Technology Officer at Connect in January 2023, having formerly been the Group Chief Executive Officer of illation. He has over 20 years of leadership experience in the telecommunications industry, with hands-on experience in development, customer service, and sales.

Gert’s entrepreneurial spirit has led him to establish two successful businesses that provide exceptional customer experience solutions. He is a true leader who understands the importance of working closely with clients to achieve their goals. With his experience, Gert has become a trusted advisor to some of the world’s largest corporations.