Management Team

Mark Daeche - Chief Executive Officer

Mark is currently Joint Chairman of M2 Investments SA which he co-founded in 2001. He was co-founder and Vice-Chairman of First Telecom Plc before its sale to Atlantic Telecom Plc in 2000 (at the time a FTSE 250 company), at which time he joined the board as an Executive Director.

A software engineer by training, he has held senior management positions at several high profile software publishers including Nantucket (Clipper compiler) in the U.S. and Europe and Fox Software International Inc. (FoxBase/FoxPro) where he was Managing Director for three years before the company was sold to Microsoft in 1992 for over $100 million.

Subsequently he founded a consultancy in the U.S. where he was the architect of operational support systems for the emerging competitive telecommunication companies. Working directly for voice resellers he developed billing and customer care systems that were unprecedented in their class for reliability, speed and accuracy.

In late 1994, recognising the forthcoming opportunity in Europe, he co-founded First Telecom Plc. in the U.K. utilising his experience from the de-regulated U.S.

Darren Braham - Chief Financial Officer

Darren is one of three Executive Directors at first:utility. He is responsible for finance, commercial development and customer operations.

Prior to joining first:utility, Darren held the position of Corporate Finance Director of Atlantic Telecom, responsible for investor relations. Prior to this role he spent five years as Finance Director of first:telecom.

Darren is a chartered accountant, having originally trained with Arthur Andersen and has a Degree in Economics and Finance from the University of Bristol.

Michael Storey - Non-Executive Chairman

From June 2002 through November 2005, he was a partner with Union Charter Financial. From 2000 to 2004, he served as President and CEO of Inmarsat Ventures, a global communications company, leaving office in March 2004, but continuing as an advisor until March 2006. From 1993 to 1999, Mr. Storey ran several telecommunications businesses during European deregulation that became MCI Europe and is now Verizon Communications

In 1984, Mr. Storey and a partner established City Centre Communications, a business in the cable television and telecommunications industry. The business was grown through several acquisitions of franchises before the business was sold in 1992 to Videotron and Bell Canada. He served as a Director and later as Chairman of the Cable Communications Association from 1983 to 1990, representing all the investors in the U.K. cable industry. Starting in 1972, Mr. Storey served for 10 years as a Vice President and Partner of Booze Allen Hamilton International Management Consultants.

Mr. Storey is a graduate of King’s Fund Administrative Staff College and has an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago. From 1958 to 1968, he worked in the healthcare industry, operating hospitals in the U.K., Middle East and North America. He was a Chairman or Board member of several national, regional and local health care organisations over a period of fifteen years as well as Chairman of a radio production company and a training video production company. He also holds two professional certifications: Professionally Qualified Hospital Administrator and Professionally Qualified Personnel Manager.