Founder and Boss of Major UK Broadband Altnet CityFibre to Step Down UPDATE
Greg Mesch, the original founder and current CEO of the UK’s largest alternative full fibre (FTTP) broadband network for ISPs, CityFibre, is reportedly to step down after setting the Openreach competitor up some 14 years ago in January 2011. The move comes shortly after the operator secured a crucial UK funding agreement worth £2.3bn (here).
CityFibre has so far deployed their Fibre-to-the-Premises (FTTP) network to cover around 4.5 million premises (inc. “almost” 700k customers) and they’ve long aspired to reach up to 8 million UK premises – representing c.30% of the UK. But their original target of hitting that by the end of 2025 will be missed, and they’ve more recently been looking to boost coverage via greater consolidation of rival networks (here and here), while also having to deal with some of the same pressures as many other networks (e.g. high interest rates, rising build costs and competition).
Despite the challenging climate, it’s hard to ignore how much of a dramatic impact CityFibre has had on competition at the physical infrastructure layer in the UK. The operator was one of the first real scale challengers to the established giants of Openreach and Virgin Media, which played a role in encouraging the incumbents to up their game and deploy their own FTTP networks at scale. But big changes are now afoot at the top of Cityfibre.
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According to the FT (paywall), Greg Mesch will reportedly be leaving his role as CEO for personal reasons and with immediate effect. Greg is to be replaced by the company’s current Chief Operating Officer (COO), Simon Holden, who is a former Goldman Sachs banker (credits to Ionide for spotting this news).
However, it’s claimed that Mesch will remain with CityFibre in a new role as vice-chair at the company, although CityFibre has yet to confirm any of this officially. Otherwise, there’s no immediate change with CityFibre’s current strategy (yet), which continues to focus on securing deals to acquire several more alternative networks (we’re expecting another 3-4 in the near future) and expanding its own build via their state-aid backed Project Gigabit contracts.
UPDATE 11:56am
The news has now been officially confirmed.
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Steve Holliday, CityFibre’s Chairman, said:
“The Board would like to pay tribute to Greg’s extraordinary vision, leadership and impact. Over the last 15 years, he has been tirelessly committed to transforming the UK’s telecoms market for the benefit of consumers and the broader economy. Under his leadership, CityFibre has emerged as an unstoppable force in UK infrastructure, and I am delighted that he will continue to contribute to its future as Vice Chairman.
In Simon Holden, we have a proven leader who has helped shape CityFibre’s strategy and operations. His sector expertise and deep institutional knowledge make him the ideal person to guide CityFibre through its next stage of growth. Under Simon’s leadership, CityFibre will stay firmly focused on executing its long-term strategy, expanding its market presence, and delivering lasting value as the UK’s full fibre challenger.”
Greg Mesch, Vice Chairman of CityFibre, 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.”
Mark is a professional technology writer, IT consultant and computer engineer from Dorset (England), he also founded ISPreview in 1999 and enjoys analysing the latest telecoms and broadband developments. Find me on X (Twitter), Mastodon, Facebook, BlueSky, Threads.net and Linkedin.
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Not really surprised TBH. CityFibre have fallen short of their own expectations so a change of leadership was always on the cards.
@big Dave I think the whole industry has fallen short on its expectations. It’s unusual to have a CEO for 15 years, certainly in today’s markets. Change is a good thing
And likewise there has been a lot of changes at the top of other companies too.
https://cityfibre.com/news/cityfibre-announces-leadership-transition-simon-holden-to-succeed-greg-mesch-as-chief-executive-officer
Official ! 🙂
Also they don’t cite personal reasons as for the step back, wonder if someone has mentioned something they shouldn’t have to the FT…
It’s pretty obvious that as the new CEO is a former Goldman Sachs employee the investors wanted their own man running the show.
The guys a true entrepeneur who has founded and sold 3 previous operators in Europe before starting CityFibre. He’s a big charachter with a lot of energy and not particularly interested in (or well suited for) the formalities of running a day-to-day business.
He’s 65 years old and is stepping down into a part time role to enjoy time with his family – I’m sure he’s earned it!
All change! All change! Time to change the name of the company too!
Why? You have a brand that is quite known amongst other Altnets that aren’t. Other companies have rebranded to their peril.
In my opinion CityFibre made a huge mistake in not using PIA from day one, they could have covered a much larger footprint much faster. They’ve been digging roads and installing ducting, when they could have utilised the heavily regulated Openreach PIA product at a fraction of the upfront cost; Yes the rental charges would have eaten into margins, but those ongoing costs would have been offset to a certain extent by tax.
Not quite – when CityFibre started building, PIA wasn’t a realistic option. Early PIA (2011–2018) had heavy restrictions – it couldn’t be used for leased lines, backhaul or core routes, and ducts/poles often needed costly remediation. Building their own ducts gave CityFibre full control, long-term ownership of the asset, and avoided indefinite rental fees to a competitor.
That strategy also underpinned their ability to raise over £8bn in funding – investors generally back asset ownership, not dependency on Openreach. PIA is useful today for infill, and Netomnia has shown it can be effective in accelerating rollout, but it’s a different model: low upfront capex but higher ongoing opex and long-term reliance on Openreach’s infrastructure. CityFibre’s approach built an independent asset base with strategic value to ISPs, which is hard to achieve if you’re permanently tied to someone else’s ducts and poles.
“With immediate effect” = distress move.
@fibrebubble I would say rather than a distress move it’s if you want this investment Greg has to go.
As someone who used to work in CF when it was a couple of dozen people it feels like the end of an era. I sat next to Greg for about a year. Always funny, focussed, strategic and above all fun. He could really build and drive a team. Half day Fridays out in covent garden with the team for lunch and drinks. Genuinely one of the most impressive execs I’ve had the privilege of working with. All the best Greg.
I noticed that Greg was not speaking at Connected Britain. This is a real shame, as it was a real highlight hearing him moan about something or other.
Greg certainly transformed the UK fibre landscape and caused Openreach to build at pace.
But although he walks away with millions, he’s lost billions for his investors. Despite the PR hype, I’m sure this is why he’s been moved on.
I came to read the comments hoping for Greg to be celebrated by leaders and peers in the way he truly deserves. I expected that not everyone would be kind (too many keyboard warriors for that), but I certainly didn’t expect the bitterness and mean speculation to outweigh the positive. Whether you love him or hate him, Greg’s vision, leadership of Cityfibre and belief that a new entrant could thrive has changed this industry. Period. I’ve worked for two altnets in recent years, and while we always believed we could do it better than Cityfibre, both of these companies knew they were following a path laid by CityFibre and benefiting from the barriers they broke down and the challenges they made. Add to this that Greg himself is one hell of a character. He’s added colour to this industry in a way that no one else ever has. He’s lit up stages, boldly said out loud what others were thinking and gotten people talking. But mostly his boldness got people believing that it was possible to break the grip of a monopoly. And finally, as someone else posted, he is 65 damnit, and yet still staying as a vice chair! Of course he needs to step down from the all-consuming job of CEO, but given what he’s built, I can bet it was still an immeasurably tough decision. So, Greg, while we’ve never shaken hands in person, HUGE kudos to you. And on behalf of our whole industry (all the misery-guts included). THANK YOU.
@belle I don’t disagree that Greg’s vision and boldness shook up the industry and pushed fibre forward in a way few thought possible — he absolutely deserves credit for that. But it’s also fair to acknowledge the other side: under his leadership there were some pretty cutthroat practices, particularly around redundancies, which left a lot of talented people bruised.
People sometimes get called “misery guts,” but in truth they’re often just battered by an industry that hasn’t treated them well — and that includes all the altnets, not just CityFibre. To almost give Greg a pass because he was disruptive and colourful isn’t quite right either. As a CEO you’re out there to be prodded, challenged, and held accountable.
For me, his legacy is mixed — a true disruptor who changed the UK market, but also a leader who probably stayed four years longer than he should have. The industry he helped reshape is stronger for his work, but it’s important to recognise both the positives and the costs.
Well said !!!!!