Curriculum Vitae - John Ridley
Personal details Name:
John Robert Ridley
Nationality:
British
Summary •
Highly experienced CTO level engineer and manager.
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Extensive knowledge of Radio Frequency engineering, statistical and mathematical modelling and analysis, strategic engineering and planning, and large scale project management.
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Accomplished freelance journalist, writer, broadcaster and columnist, working with major international broadcasters, newspapers and magazines.
Skills and experience Journalism, Research and Writing •
Exemplary written and verbal communications skills, gained through journalism, writing, and broadcasting.
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Considerable experience of compiling information, writing, and editing - from government and United Nations reports, to detailed briefings for major broadcasters, newspapers and magazines, and board level reports and presentations.
Communications •
Managed all internal project, media, and government communications for Huawei projects in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon; including drafting press releases and editorial for use by local media, international telecommunications media and internal corporate publications.
Data analytics and visualisation •
Alongside forecasting, modelling and analysis, good writing and clear graphical display of data are essential to succinctly communicate ideas and information with clarity and precision. My commissioned work and articles increasingly use data from multiple sources, either publicly available, proprietary and / or collected explicitly for the project. I work closely with clients in identifying how best to visually present data for video, presentation and print. Example analysis and visualisation projects include: •
Monitoring usage of water and water systems over several months to identify wastage and bacterial growth - for a major hotel chain
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Analysing usage and life expectancy of thermionic valves in broadcast transmitters in different environments - for a major broadcaster
Curriculum Vitae - John Ridley
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Analysis of the financial, social and environmental impact of genetically modified foods in Asia - far a major current affairs magazine
Forecasting, modelling and analysis •
Building complex models for forecasting and simulating market dynamics and analysing possible scenarios in order to understand technical and commercial options and risks; using Excel and Mathematica with SQL databases, as appropriate.
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Building cost, performance, capacity, and other models, to analyse technical, market and financial issues. As an example, analysing the technical and financial feasibility and customer impact, of hardware redeployment as networks are modernised.
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Assignment as a constant to design a geographic analysis and customer profiling system for a major, international web based travel company.
Chief Technology Officer •
Assumed responsibility for the operation and management of all technical and operational departments for nationwide 2G, 3G and WiMax networks in Saudi Arabia (two networks), Iran, Malaysia and UK
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Responsible for design and commissioning, and management of the rollout of the world's first commercial mobile television service in Malaysia.
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Introduced a new role into the industry - “Statistical Engineering” , enabling optimisation of technical and financial aspects of the business, and allowing the business to react quicker to changes in customer demands.
Project Director / Manager •
Project Director for five nation-wide 2G, 3G, Wimax and LTE network build, swap and expansion projects, valued between $50 and $80 million - responsibilities included civil, electrical, mechanical, technical, logistics, resourcing, scheduling, budget etc.
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Project Director for three nation-wide network performance and improvement projects, valued at between $2 and $4 million
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Assigned to replace the incumbent project director for three projects where Huawei was exposed to high financial penalties through project completion slippages and failing to meet performance. Projects valued at between $30 and $50 million; each project was successfully recovered.
Radio Frequency Engineering •
25 years experience of detailed RF engineering, including broadcast transmitters, modulation schemes, complex antenna systems, interference profiling and analysis, location and mitigation.
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Strategic and detailed spectrum planning in UK, Malaysia and the Middle East
Curriculum Vitae - John Ridley
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Managed the implementation of ICNIRP compliance for Orange
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Major contributor to the British Parliamentary Sub - Committee report into mobile phone radiation (Stewart Report).
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Established and chaired an industry wide forum addressing EMF health and safety in Malaysia.
Strategy and Business Transition •
Supporting the CEO and management team (in five networks) in a detailed evaluation of the capabilities of networks, and in identifying how networks can be modernised and upgraded to support the increasing volume of data required by growing numbers of cloud based services, smart phone applications, and film, video and audio streaming, such as iPlayer.
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Researching and analysing strategic options for RAN modernisation of four networks deploying LTE and UMTS 900; considering traffic loadings and profiles, spectrum availability, capabilities of RAN, core and transmission hardware, staff capabilities, managed services, and operational and capital costs.
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Analysis of new technologies, how they can be deployed in networks, and the financial and technical risks of deployment. For example, as networks become increasing required to support multiple standards, I have been working with network vendors to investigate the use virtualisation in core network elements
PhD - Middle Eastern Studies •
Studying how media reporting in the Middle East, by the international and regional media, influenced the outcome of the uprisings in Egypt and Tunisia, and continue to do so. Completion expected 2016.
Employment history Partner - Director of Consultancy (Middle East) and Corporate Communications Airborne Networks - Exeter and Bahrain, August 2012 – Date Returned to Airborne Networks, a UK based wireless mesh network vendor and managed services provider, focusing primarily upon the mobile communications industry. As a partner, I manage the Middle Eastern and Asian managed services and consultancy business and have been assigned to projects in the UK and the Middle East. Assignments include: •
Consultant - Network capability audit and development of strategy for a major Middle Eastern WiMax operator to migrate from WiMax to LTE
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Consultant - Design and implementation of a Customer Geographic Analysis and Profiling System for a major, international web based travel company
Curriculum Vitae - John Ridley
Editor, Al Khaleej Travel Guide - Bahrain - July 2012 - Date Recruited to relaunch the magazine and increase readership across the GCC countries. Responsible for twelve-month forward plan, design, content and production of each issue from commissioning and writing copy and editorial, final art work, layout, and securing advertisers. Speaking at GCC based conferences, trade shows, GCC radio and TV stations, and cooperating with airlines, and the Ministry of tourism to promote Bahrain as a major tourist destination.
Journalist, broadcaster and writer (Bahrain and Middle East) - January 2010 Date Based in Bahrain, I travel extensively throughout The Middle East, reporting on Syrian, Middle Eastern current events, Islamic and Arab culture, and the regional water and food crisis for several major newspapers and broadcasters. I write for one of the Middle East’s highest circulation business to business publications; and have written, produced, and presented several documentaries on behalf of Deutsche Welle Radio International, Radio New Zealand and an international 24 hour television news station. In addition to news and current events, I write monthly columns for several national and international business , lifestyle and culinary publications.
Technical Account, and Project Manager (Middle East) - Huawei Bahrain, July 2010 - August 2012 Recruited to support multiple Middle Eastern projects supporting Huawei’s local project teams, I was responsible for building and maintaining relationships with, CTO and board level managers for the company’s Middle Eastern clients. Assigned as project director for failing Huawei 3G swap and LTE rollout projects in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon. In each project, Huawei was increasingly exposed to high financial penalties through slipping delivery dates and performance bonds. I successfully returned the projects to budget and schedule through negotiation with the clients, reassessment of working practices and project plans, tight management of staff and subcontractors and improved communications and coordination with the clients.
Technology and Management Consultant (Middle East) - Airborne Networks Exeter, November 2000 – July 2010 Airborne Networks is a UK based wireless mesh network vendor and managed services provider, focusing primarily upon the mobile communications industry. I managed the Middle Eastern and Asian managed services business, and was assigned to projects in the UK, Middle East and Asia as interim CTO, project director, and as a consultant
Curriculum Vitae - John Ridley
in radio frequency interference mitigation, 2G, 3G and WiMax performance and optimisation, and management, technology and analytics. Assignments have included: •
Interim Chief Technology and Media Officer - Urban WiMax - London
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Interim Director - Network Performance & Capacity - Atheeb Telecommunications Consortium - Saudi Arabia
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Project Director, 2G & 3G Network Improvement - Al Jawal - Saudi Telecommunications, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Project Manager and RF Specialist - Etisalat, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
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Interim Chief Technology Officer - MTN, Sana’a, Republic of Yemen,
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Radio Strategic & Engineering Consultant - OFCOM, London
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Engineering Director - Mobile Communications Iran, Tehran, The Islamic Republic of Iran
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Interim Chief Technology Officer - DiGi Telecommunications, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,
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Interim Chief Technology Officer (Network strategy) - Al Jawal / Saudi Telecom, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
See “skills and experience” section for further information.
Head of Radio Design - Orange, Bradley Stoke, Bristol June 1999 – July 2002 Responsible, at a corporate level, for design, development and performance of the company’s network of 8000 radio sites, and co-ordination of the Orange’s radio, core network, service and handset strategies. Managed a budget of £30 million. Contributed to and prepared evidence submitted by Orange to The Parliamentary Select Committee on mobile phone safety.
Head of Radio Design - Cellnet, Slough October 1997 to June 1999 Managed Cellnet’s Radio Design Group and was responsible for development of the companies radio strategy and radio network architecture for GSM, GPRS and 3G. Technical representative on a company wide committee addressing the regulatory aspects of the impact of ICNRP guidelines being introduced.
Group Leader, European Systems Engineering - Motorola, Yemen Arab Republic, USA and UK, 1988 - 1997 Established and managed Motorola's core GSM RF systems engineering group, responsible for defining systems engineering standards and GSM cellular systems design, optimisation and systems performance across Europe.
Curriculum Vitae - John Ridley
Senior Broadcast Engineer - British Broadcasting Corporation, Masirah Island, Sultanate of Oman and UK 1977 - 1988 Operation and maintenance of BBC TV transmitting stations in Central Scotland. Commissioned BBC’s Nicam VHF radio distribution network and MF / LF radio, VHF radio and UHF television transmitting sites in Central Scotland. Technical operation of the BBC Eastern Relay Station In The Sultanate of Oman.
Curriculum Vitae - John Ridley
Qualifications and training Higher Education •
PhD Middle Eastern Studies, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia (completion 2016)
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Engineering Council Examinations (equivalent to BSc Hons) in Electrical Engineering
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Open University degree in Pure and Applied Mathematics
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Diploma in journalism - internationally accredited journalist
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PRINCE 2 Practitioner (Project Management)
Further training •
1993 - Consulting Skills for Effective Advising (Sheppard Moscow Ltd., London)
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1995 - Positive Power and Influence (Sheppard Moscow Ltd., London)
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1998 - Advanced Facilitation Skills (Sheppard Moscow Ltd., London)
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2009 - Print, web and broadcast journalism - NCTJ accredited
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2011 - PRINCE 2 Practitioner (Project Management)
Software packages Standard computer packages, Project Management packages, SQL databases, Mathematica, GIS, FinalCut Pro X, Quark XPress 9.5
Interests and hobbies •
Voluntary work: Formally a member of the National Executive Committee and Director of SANDS, a national charity providing support to families who suffer the loss of a baby at, or around birth
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Author of many published short stories, both factual (mostly Middle Eastern) and fiction
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Languages: Passable Arabic - currently enrolled in formal written and spoken classes with University of Cairo
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Travel: I have travelled extensively throughout remote regions of the Northern Arabian Peninsula and Gulf States, Iran, Africa, Asia, North and South America and Russia