Mesch built the firm into the UK’s largest altnet full fibre platform over the last 15 years and now becomes now Vice Chair
CityFibre, the UK’s largest independent full fibre platform, announced that its founder and Chief Executive Officer, Greg Mesch (pictured above), has been appointed Vice Chair today. Simon Holden, formerly CityFibre’s Group Chief Operating Officer, has stepped into Mesch’s shoes immediately.
Mesch led CityFibre since its inception 15 years ago, turning it into UK’s main digital infrastructure challenger. Under his leadership, the company raised over £8 billion and a fibre platform that reaches over 4.5 million premises and serves almost 700,000 customers, plus thousands of businesses and public sector sites.
CityFibre is a delivery partner in the UK government’s digital agenda and arguably the cornerstone of the nation’s competitive digital infrastructure market, although the UK opco Telefonica O2, which is half owned by Liberty Global might have something to say about that.
Now we are six years in…
Simon Holden joined CityFibre in 2019 as Group Chief Operating Officer and board member. He has more than 25 years’ experience in telecoms and infrastructure. Before joining CityFibre he was a partner at Goldman Sachs where he held senior roles in the Investment Banking division including Global Chief Operating Officer, Vice-Chairman EMEA and Global Head of Telecom Investment Banking.
Holden has helped shape CityFibre’s strategy, overseeing its commercial affairs, financing efforts and rollouts.
Greg Mesch, Vice Chairman, said, “Founding and leading CityFibre over the past 15 years has been the privilege of a lifetime. I’m incredibly proud of what our team has achieved, unleashing digital infrastructure competition to drive investment and innovation, and unlocking immeasurable benefits for consumers, businesses and the UK. We have overcome many challenges, and I can say with confidence that we have helped change the country for better, for ever.
“After 15 years at the helm, the company is in the strongest shape ever, and it’s the right moment for me to step back from day‑to‑day operations whilst continuing to support CityFibre’s long‑term direction as Vice Chairman. Simon has been central to our success since he joined six years ago, and I have every confidence in his leadership. I look forward to backing him and our mission in my new role.”
Pyrotechnics
I would personally like to thank Greg Mesch for the most entertaining conference session I have ever witnessed in my long career as a tech and telecoms journalist. It was at the FTTH Europe Conference in Amsterdam in 2019, when for a while it looked like I might have a brief stint as a boxing correspondent.
Mike McTighe, Chair of Openreach, kicked off a packed keynote session entitled Investment & Markets – Full Fibre and 5G Future for the UK with a short speech, followed by Mesch, then Dan Butler who at that time was Director of Communications and Policy Strategy at Hyperoptic, and finally, Michael Sherman, Chief Strategy & Transformation Officer, BT Group.
The plan was to follow their brief presentations with a panel discussion. Instead it rapidly descended into a prolonged, ill-tempered, at times very personal shouting match between Sherman and Mesch. The latter is known for his pyrotechnics when he has the floor but Sherman’s behaviour was extraordinary, reiterating he would put Mesch out of business in what started out as a discussion about regulation, as l recall. Sherman left BT in October 2021. I think I still have the recording somewhere.
Winning strategy?
For his part, Simon Holden, the new CEO of CityFibre, said of his promotion, “We have a winning strategy and I’m excited to lead the team on this next phase of our journey, scaling our reach, deepening customer relationships, and ensuring we continue to operate the UK’s best network.
“CityFibre is the UK’s full fibre challenger, a trusted, high-performance wholesale alternative that drives innovation, competition and long-term growth for the UK economy. But more than that, we’re here to create opportunity – enabling technologies like AI to reach every household, helping people, businesses and communities to do more, reach further and stay connected to what matters.”
