Rob Conway - An incredible journey

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Rob Conway had led GSMA in one of it!s most critical periods when mobile telephony moved from affluent nations to across the world, in particular the emerging and the developing world. From hundreds to millions of mobile phones and now over 5 billion, it!s been a journey that GSMA, under the leadership of Rob, has ably steered.

I have had the privilege of working closely with Rob during some of the twists and turns in India!s regulatory regime and GSMA has always come out strongly in support of creating a global eco system based on GSM platforms and we succeeded in no small measure because of the help given by Rob and GSMA. The Mobile World Congress, earlier at Cannes and now in it!s bigger avatar at Barcelona, is again a testimony to Rob!s vision of putting together one of the biggest and finest telecom events across the globe.

The telecom fraternity and GSMA will miss Rob and I would like to wish him my very best in whatever he chooses to do next.

Sunil

It was a great pleasure to work with you over the years and witness the transformation of GSMA into what it is today. A great personal achievement for you!

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Dear Rob I would like to thank you for your support to China Mobile over the past years. I very much enjoyed working with you and joining your premier industry event in the Mobile World Congress every time.

Your personal contribution to the tremendous growth and development of the whole industry is really appreciated.

Wang Jianzhou Chairman of China Mobile

Dear Rob, I" can!t believe 12 years have gone by â&#x20AC;&#x201C; it seems like yesterday that you joined GSMA! Under your leadership GSMA has grown exponentially and became a world known trade organization, covering all aspects of mobile life.

What I appreciated most is that besides the glamour and the glitter, there always has been an eye for the social agenda, for the use of mobile in 3rd world countries," to help people to enhance their standard of living through mobile.

I really like to thank you for that!

I do hope we will be able to keep in contact and please do come by whenever you are in Brussels!

Adriana Nugter

Rob, There are very few individuals who have had as much impact on the GSMA as you. Thank you for a decade of dedicated development of the world's largest wireless organization.

Jim Healy Chair Emeritus - GSMA

Dear Rob: I am honoured to have been working so closely with you over the last 10 years." For the many who have worked with"and for you, we are so thankful for the leadership, the education and the friendship you have offered." Building an organization of the magnitude and complexity of GSMA is such a challenge. You not only met that challenge but exceeded it by miles." Thank you for all you have done." There are many of us from around the world who know the heights you scaled to bring our industry to its present success.

You are the best Craig

Rob, " Thanks for the great job that you have done. You have transformed GSMA to meet the needs of the industry and the public. Also, thanks for the friendship, and, let!s keep in touch. " Warmest Regards, Jamal

Rob, you've done a stellar job in making the GSMA the prestigious and relevant organization that it is today. Best of luck in your next endeavour!

Best regards, Polly

When the history of the past decade is written, the focus will be how wireless and the Internet changed the world." This historic change has been driven by"the GSMA and at the center of the GSMA has been Rob Conway."As a result, there is no doubt but that Rob has been a critically important reason why today millions -- in fact"billions -- of people around the world are able to communicate easily and at low cost and that those people can access the world's knowledge through wireless Internet access." During the past decade or so, Rob has not only changed the GSMA but also he has changed the world and made it a much better place for billions of people." Rob has made history and, knowing him, the best is yet to come!

Amb. David A. Gross

Rob Conway: Service and Leadership

It all began in the Pink Room of the Stafford Hotel in London. I was president of CTIA and wanted to check out this new guy at GSMA. Little did I know that I was meeting a real leader who would move GSMA into the forefront of the wireless industry and in the process affect the lives of countless people around the globe.

Even better, little did I know I was making a great friend.

Prior to Rob Conway GSMA had been a standards secretariat. I remember sitting through one particularly painful general meeting where the entire membership debated and then voted on whether to air-condition the Dublin office! So long as that was the functional characteristic of GSMA we at CTIA had an open field in which to be the principal voice of the wireless industry. The new guy looked like he might actually turn GSMA into a functioning body that would provide real leadership to the wireless industry. The purpose of the Pink Room meeting was to size up the new guy.

Like two dogs in the park we circled each other in that small but colorful room. Were we friends, or were we competitors? I walked away from the meeting having learned that Rob knew the industry and had a vision for where the GSM Association should be going. CTIA wasn!t going to be the only industry association of consequence much longer.

Over the years multiple things developed to prove that conclusion correct. Rob led the GSMA to think of itself anew and to recast the role and scope of the activities of the organization.

Reorganizing from a technical standards body to an executive-led organization, Rob spread GSMA!s wings. The annual convention in Cannes which the organization had previously allowed someone else to own (thus allowing someone else to define the industry!s message) became a GSMA event appropriately named the Mobile World Congress. It was the mobile world that GSMA now represented.

The quality of the staff of GSMA also began to change as Rob brought in leaders, not just staffers, and then gave them the opportunity to use their substantial abilities. It takes a strong and secure leader to surround himself with strong and capable people. The result spoke for itself; suddenly GSMA was into everything and was becoming the world-wide voice for the mobile industry.

The list of Rob!s accomplishments while at the helm of GSMA could go on forever. Not only did he reclaim the industry!s message by taking control of the annual event, but also he opened an Asian version to reach out to that geography. The incredible â&#x20AC;&#x201C; and lifechanging â&#x20AC;&#x201C; impact of mobile devices on the citizens of developing countries was, in large part, the result of the effort Rob led to find a low-cost handset solution. Appropriately receiving a spif on the sales of that handset, Rob put the money to work to further expand the impact of mobile on the lives of the people of the world with the GSM Development Fund. This fund wasn!t simply another charitable organization, but rather a seed capital organization that sponsored demonstration projects that further demonstrated the impact the mobile device can have on improving the lot of Mankind. Rob!s initiatives also helped improve the environment. Championing a common charger helped cut the waste in landfills. His green initiative to seek out other applications for base station power expanded the scope of mobile!s impact beyond the devices themselves.

The mobile device is the most pervasive and powerful technology ever developed. In the hands of over five billion people, the mobile device is saving lives, facilitating commerce, and transforming the patterns of our culture. This is Rob Conway!s legacy.

Certainly the mobile device would have been a transformational tool if there had been no Rob Conway; but thankfully there was Rob whose leadership could nudge the direction of the mobile industry to look beyond itself. Because of that the lives of people throughout the world have been changed.

Thank you Rob! Tom Wheeler

A special congratulations to you at this special time. You have much for which to be proud. You've built a global organization with a strong brand and reputation. You've navigated challenging and fascinating industry issues well--whether it be the need for common platforms and standards, the challenge and opportunity of the internet and the significant impact of mobile in the emerging markets--you did this skilfully by developing an aspirational global mobile vision, while identifying the common interests and imperatives of GSMA's members. And your ability to connect with such a diverse array of members, partners and policymakers is impressive. As you embark on your next professional chapter, Suzan and I wish you continued success, health and happiness. We look forward to continuing"our professional relationship and friendship. Best wishes! " Terry and Suzan Kramer

Dear Rob, You have done a fantastic job as the CEO of the GSMA, transforming an almost unmanageable, international standardizations organization into a modern, active and engaged trade association, just in time for the big revolution that has happened in the mobile world over the last ten years.

It has always been a pleasure working with you and being with you.

Thank you very much for the respectful way you always treated me and my organization, for your engagement and not the least for your willingness to contribute.

I wish you all the best for the future.

Best personal regards, Arve Johansen

My dear friend Rob, Our professional relationships became back in the 90s.....of the last century, in the Board of Entel Chile, South America.

Since the beginning, we defended the interests of our respective companies, while gaining reciprocal confidence and respect one another.

As you remember, we, in Entel, together our colleagues, launched the PCN - Personal Communication Network, the first GSM network in the Americas, the seed that blossomed, growth-up, expanded and saturated the American continent.

At the beginning of the....present century, you became CEO of the GSMA and, among others, you called me for helping you completing the job: an association able to talk on behalf of every mobile operator and able to guarantee Interoperability and Roaming world wide.

Now the dream come true: we have all the World under the same families of technology, an immense economy of scale and around 6 B users by year-end.

Rob, it has been a privilege and a honor working with you. The Industry will miss you; we all in the GSMA will miss you; I will miss you as a colleague but will continue to be friend for the time to come.

Mauro

You have accomplished"so much for"the GSMA as well as for the whole mobile industry.""You"meant a lot to"me especially for us the Asian mobile operators." Hopefully there will be opportunity that we could work together again." May God bless you and all yours."

Joe"

Dear Rob I can still remember the time when we at AT&T Wireless decided to build out a GSM Network and that you wasted no time to come knocking on my door asking that we support the GSMA and that we were a welcome addition to that Global entity!!

As I learned over the years through our association, that was just a precursor of the wisdom and insight with which you have lead the GSMA over the past many years. The Organization has moved many a mile from the days that I first was introduced to it back then.

This has been due to your Leadership and foresight!! No question of that in my mind!! You have made it the Global Association that it has become!!

While I am sorry to see you leave, there is a large part of me that believes that the best for you is yet to come. I very much hope to be a part of that"story and I very much look forward to being a part of your journey.

All my very Best, Mohan ( and Tejinder )

To the quintessential statesman and global CEO, you kept the world in a balance with style and grace.....

Thank you for a job best done, Rob. Because of all the efforts, a picture, a note, a song, a view, a new number, or the name of a new gorgeous wine is seconds away and in the palm of a hand, wherever we both shall be.....And so, do keep in touch, always.

With best wishes, Myla

Dear Rob, Not so many people in this world would have an opportunity to rebuild and to lead an institution as impactful as GSMA. I could observe you "in action" only half the distance (since 2004), but those years period were full of both good fun and sense of significant accomplishments. In other words, it was great to be part of it! Thank you for that!

Best regards Alexander

My Dear Friend Rob, As you continue your journey in a new path, I would like to share a thought. The value of a CEO!s contribution to the success of the organization is not measured by a single flash of success or a solitary failure. Rather, it is measured by his legacy of transforming the organization and placing it on track to prosperity for a long, long time to come. Rob, your legacy of successes at GSMA will be remembered by many generations in our industry.

I look forward to the continuation of our friendship and I look forward to seeing you at the helm of another organization.

Wishing you my very best always, Reza Reza Jafari

Dear Rob, On this happy occasion of you moving forward to greener pastures, it"is time to reflect and look at what you have accomplished for the GSMA and for the entire industry. Under your leadership the mobile industry has grown to be a formidable industry source of economical growth and hope for the entire world. History should credit you as having been a true force behind this fantastic growth.

The GSMA , under your leadership, enabled the proliferation of technology and service throughout the world, especially in the under developed world. You were skillfully able to grasp the importance of creating a complete eco system of service providers, technology vendors, developers & "government, to fuel this growth. The annual congress in Barcelona has become the focus point for the entire world.

We at Carmel Ventures are proud to have been a small part of this amazing journey. We are thankful for the insight, partnership and the leadership you have provided us. We look forward to continue this unique relationship beyond the SGMA. We wish you all the best Shlomo Dovrat" & the entire Carmel family

Rob, Best wishes to you for your future projects. Your energy, leadership, vision, and Magdalena!s and your grace as GSMA Global Ambassadors, will be sorely missed.

All the best Christian Salbaing Hutchison 3 Group

Rob You have provided great leadership for GSMA. And now can look forward to making a similarly important contribution elsewhere in the industry. Many thanks for being so persistent to chase an involvement from Vodafone and working so hard to get me involved after that dinner in Tokyo. I really enjoyed our time together and look forward to staying closely in touch in the future.

"Alan Harper

I was surprised to hear Rob had decided to end his long tenure as CEO of the GSMA but I guess all great stewardships must end eventually.

I don!t think there can be any doubt in anyone!s mind that the success of the GSMA is due in no small way to the dedication and leadership of Rob Conway. While many of us, including former Chairpersons, can claim some credit for where the GSMA is today, at the end of the day it was one man who had the vision, the skills and demonstrated the leadership to take the association from a small secretariat model to the hugely successful global trade association it is today.

Well done Rob Conway! Thank you for your 12 years of dedicated leadership and for your friendship.

Best Regards Jim Pratt

Chairman - 2002/2003

See you at the Radisson, Blackrock. I assure you, this thing has a lot of potential.

Cheers, Mike.

It has been an amazing 12 years of change and growth in the industry, and the Mobile World Congress has developed and changed beyond belief under your leadership and guidance, I wish you the very best in wherever life takes you next.

Neil and all at StarHub

Dear Rob, " It was a great experience to work with you. I will always remember the vibrant and motivating atmosphere you have created for us at GSMA. Good luck and best wishes for the future. " Muzaffer Akp覺nar

some fishes might surrender at some point but some are always ready for the new oceans:!" good luck

My dear friend, Leaving the position after so many years is an honorable move especially when one has done so much for an industry and can proudly look back. Congratulations on all of your success, I am certainly happy that I witnessed a great journey.

Apart from your vast knowledge, expertise and strong leadership of GSMA the one of the most distinctive traits that you've touched me with is the way you listened, the ability to recognize the most delicate issues from million of the bigger ones, pay attention and move things. The small operators will never forget how well you have taken care of them:-) I will always remember your willingness to support initiatives, flying in Dubrovnik and Vienna, our GSMA meetings all over the world, great discussions and urge to do positive things from so many aspects.

I hope that life will create an opportunity for the two of us to meet again. It doesn't have to be a global telecommunication reason, maybe just a simple invitation for a local fish and wine in a small restaurant somewhere in Dubrovnik would make a good reason as well:-) Until then stay happy and healthy Sincerely yours Boris

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