Hyperoptic Appoint Chief Sales Officer to Help Extend their 1Gbps Fibre Network

Urban fibre optic ISP Hyperoptic has today appointed a new Chief Sales Officer (CSO), Floyd Widener, to help grow the company’s “full fibre” (FTTP/B) broadband network footprint towards its target of 2 million UK premises passed by 2022 and possibly 5 million by 2025.

Back in July the provider scored a major win (here) after they secured additional an investment of £100 million from a consortium of four major European banks (BNP Paribas, ING, RBS and Dutch investment bank NIBC), which is set to help fuel a big network expansion beyond their original target of 500,000 premises passed by the end of 2019 (they’ve already completed c.350,000).

A project of that scale will of course benefit from those who have experience of such efforts and this appears to be where Floyd Widener will become useful. In that sense Floyd will be responsible for developing a “high growth sales plan“, which builds upon the ISP’s existing relationships and partnerships with developers, freeholders, councils and housing associations.

Likewise the new CSO will also need to work with the Government’s Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) in order to encourage “increased government support and investment” (e.g. the £400m Digital Infrastructure Investment Fund).

Dana Tobak, CEO of Hyperoptic, said:

“Floyd brings phenomenal ‘big company’ skills with an entrepreneurial attitude. The fact that he joins us from a separate sector also means that we will benefit from fresh thinking and new approaches. His experience will play a key part in enabling our expansion to two million homes by 2022.”

Floyd is understood to have held numerous VP and SVP positions at global firms, such as CWT Meetings & Events (Carlson Wagonlit Travel) and Sabre GDS, although his telecoms / broadband experience appears to be limited.