• 17Jun
  14:00 17th June 2016 ( Trinity Term 2016 )

  Tony Hoare Room, Robert Hooke Building

Speaker bio

Brought up in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Phil graduated from Teesside University with and honors degree in Computer Science in 1991, and in 1993 from the University of the West of England with a masters in Parallel Computer Systems. After working in a Bristol technology start-up from 1993, Phil went on for form his own company in 1998. Liveworks Ltd. produced a range of video communication products, installing the first video call centres and content distribution platforms in Europe as well as manufacturing ruggadised satellite communication systems used by news broadcasters and the military alike, including BBC, CNN, NBS, SAS, SAS, Navy Seals, PM's Private Office etc. In 2003 Phil made a lifestyle choice to spend more time with his family, sold the IPR built up in LiveWorks and joined GCHQ in 2005. Already familiar with the satellite and cryptographic systems used across the SIA, Phil went back to a full-time engineering position, working on a diverse range of systems including global GMS infrastructure, large scale processing and GIS platforms. Active across the UK SIA and 5-Eyes community, his role developed into a more public facing one, providing consultancy services across the community, as well as other organisations such as the IAEA in Vienna and Tokyo. Phil's final role at GCHQ was as the organisations external Innovation Lead, advocating the need for government to work closer with industry in the SIA space and in particular with small businesses, running a number of public tenders with CDE, TSB and Innovate UK. Now working at Improbable, Phil brings a unique mix of engineering, business and government experience to identify and build on sectors where SpatialOS, as a new paradigm in cloud computing, will help to solve some of the most challenging problems we face today.