BT creates 5G private networks & edge unit, appoints MD

BT announced the appointment of Marc Overton as Managing Director of its newly created ‘Division X’ unit, which forms part of its Enterprise business. Marc will join the company on 14 February, 2022.

This unit has been established to scale up and commercialise the development of unique customer solutions incorporating components such as 5G Private Networks, IoT, and Edge Computing, amongst others. These technologies will provide the foundations to fuel the digital transformation of high growth industries such as healthcare, transport and logistics, putting BT at the heart of building the UK’s economic recovery. Division X will also manage BT’s portfolio of specialised businesses.

Marc brings substantial global senior management and business development experience, as well as extensive knowledge across mobile, IoT, cloud, software-as-a-service and managed services – all of which are strategic growth areas for BT’s Enterprise division.

Marc joins BT from Sierra Wireless, a global provider of IoT and enterprise networking solutions. Here he rose to the position of Chief Solutions Officer & Senior Vice President for EMEA & APAC, where he grew the global solutions and service business sevenfold between 2017 and 2020. Prior to that he was Managing Director, Global Innovation and Sales for West Coast start-up, Cisco Jasper, the world’s largest IoT platform. Earlier in his career, Marc ran EMEA for First Data (now Fiserv) helping it transform from the world’s largest payment processing company into a merchant solutions business. He also held a variety of roles at EE and Orange UK, where he built their MVNO and IoT businesses.

Commenting on his appointment, Marc said: “Division X is set to be a key growth engine for BT’s Enterprise business, moving it from a telco to a tech co by expanding into adjacent services which go beyond traditional calls and lines. I’m really excited to be leading a unit which will act as an innovation hub for our Enterprise customers. We’ll be focused on turning emerging tech like 5G, IoT, Edge and AI into solutions that we can scale, sell, and which will drive sustainable growth.”

Rob Shuter, CEO of BT’s Enterprise business, said: “Marc’s breadth of global experience across mobile and digital platforms, together with his proven ability to transform the latest tech innovations into scalable customer solutions, made him the ideal candidate to lead Division X.

“As the most trusted business communications provider in the UK, BT is uniquely placed to help customers in key industries with their digital transformation. Through Division X we’ll co-create and productise solutions working directly with them so they can get the most out of the latest tech.”

Marc is also proud to be a senior British Army Reservist and is due to take over as the Assistant Chief of Defence Staff (Reserves and Cadets), the senior Reservist appointment in UK Defence, later this year.

Marc holds an undergraduate degree in Politics from the University of Exeter, an MPhil in International Relations from the University of Cambridge, and a Master of Business Administration from Henley Management College. CT Bureau