About Us - Darwin Innovation

OUR OBJECTIVE

At Darwin, we explore ways to combine terrestrial and satellite communications, with the goal of ubiquitous communications across the world. We use connected and autonomous vehicles (CAVs) to demonstrate what we’ve achieved.

You can learn about some of the exciting things we’re doing on the News page.

If you’re a member of the press, or a partner who’d like access to our logo, our press resources page may be helpful.

OUR TEAM

Darwin has gathered an amazing team comprising industry professionals, academics and university graduates across the world. This combination of skills allows us to think widely and assess problems from different points of view, enabling innovation to thrive.

Daniela Petrovic

Delivery Director

Milos Petrovic

CEO

Rodrigo Barreto

Lead Architect

Ram Kurakula

Project Manager

Sophia Ward

Operations Manager

Richard Thomas

Senior Developer

Soheyl Soodmand

Senior RF and Antenna Architect

Harriet Evans

Marketing Analyst and News Blogger

Atul Gokhale

Vendor Manager

Paul Rizos

Senior Business Analyst

Leticia García

Translator

Peter Antal

Autonomous Shuttle Operator

David Owens

Head of Technical Trials and Chief Pilot

Paul Proteasa

Autonomous Shuttle Operator

Nuran Acur

Regulations Lead

Steve Brown

Head of 5G CoE Harwell

Dan Calabrese

Video Production Editor

Andrew Davies

Consultant

Bryony Grimes

Video Production Editor

Ankita Magdum

Web Developer

Athar Meo

Network Architect

Rob Searle

Head of 5G

Abuzar Siddiqui

Software Developer

Zoran Spasojevic

Lead Architect

Aidan Syed

Enterprise Architect

Daniela Petrovic

Delivery Director

Darwin is a dream come true for Daniela. Entrepreneur, academic researcher and telecom industry consultant for over twenty years, she now has the opportunity to combine industry, government and academia in one innovation project. Daniela’s role in Darwin is shaping and delivering its strategic vision with first-class teams across Harwell Science Campus, Telefonica O2 and Telefonica Madrid, Hispasat Madrid, the Canary Islands, Glasgow and Oxford.

Milos Petrovic

CEO

Rodrigo Barreto

Lead Architect

Rodrigo is Darwin's enterprise architect and has over 25 years' experience in enterprise architecture, having developed blueprints for ZTE, TalkTalk and Vodafone. Rodrigo has an MBA from the University of Manchester and a bachelor's in telecommunications engineering from the University of São Paulo. He lives in Oxford with his family and in his free time enjoys cycling.

Ram Kurakula

Project Manager

Ram is a project management consultant with over 20 years of experience, based in Slough. He has worked with big consultancies and has been part of complex transformation programmes. He has a double masters degree: MBA and MEng. Ram's hobbies include cooking and cricket, which he both plays and watches.

Sophia Ward

Operations Manager

Sophia is Darwin's operations manager, supporting Darwin in all legal, HR and operational matters. Sophia has spent most of her professional life in the public and non-profit sector, working with charities, non-profits, trusts, NGOs and local authorities. She has a legal background and a wealth of experience in operational management, as well as regulatory expertise gained at the Financial Ombudsman Service. In her spare time, Sophia enjoys cooking, baking and long country walks.

Richard Thomas

Senior Developer

Richard is Darwin's lead software developer. He brings over 30 years of software development experience, which has been gained whilst working for leading software consultancies in projects covering a wide range of technologies and industries. He lives in north-east Hampshire with his family and in his free time enjoys paddle-boarding, windsurfing, flying remote control helicopters and, more recently, 3D printing.

Soheyl Soodmand

Senior RF and Antenna Architect

Dr Soheyl Soodmand has joined Darwin as senior antenna and RF architect in the fields of satellite communication/5G antennas and RF front ends. He has an extensive affiliation history in academia and industry, including work with University of Oxford, Drayson Technologies Ltd, Dryson Wireless Ltd, University of Bristol, Newcastle University, Mobile Communication Technologies Ltd and University of Surrey. Among other things, he has worked on bioreactor design for regenerative medicine, electromagnetic sensors for SHM & NDT applications, 5G transceiver design, internet of things platform, RF energy harvesting and wireless energy transfer technologies. He has several patents, awards, and papers published in international journals and at conferences.

Harriet Evans

Marketing Analyst and News Blogger

Harriet is an experienced copywriter and copyeditor, enthusiastic about language in all its forms. Her role is to refine, expand and monitor Darwin's online presence, creating content for the project's website and social media.

Atul Gokhale

Vendor Manager

Atul comes from an engineering background, with a PhD in chemical engineering, and since getting his degree has spent a decade in research labs. Over the last 20-plus years, he has delivered telecom solutions for Telefonica O2, giffgaff, BT, Three UK, Dixons and Superdrug.

Paul Rizos

Senior Business Analyst

Paul Rizos is Darwin's senior business analyst. Paul has 30 years of experience in the IT industry delivering many large business and technical transformation projects. His most recent engagements were in delivering network and online charging systems integration projects with Telefonica. Before this, Paul spent four years with Three Austria delivering business transformation projects for its European operating companies. Paul lives in North Yorkshire with his family.

Leticia García

Translator

Leticia is studying Optics and Optometry at Complutense University in Madrid. Her role is to translate and localise Darwin's online content into Spanish. Leticia's hobbies include travelling, listening to music and hanging out with friends.

Peter Antal

Autonomous Shuttle Operator

Peter has over ten years of experience in the public transport sector. He has a mechanical background and a wealth of experience in customer service. In his spare time he enjoys cooking, gardening and most of all fishing.

David Owens

Head of Technical Trials and Chief Pilot

David’s main role in Darwin is the introduction and testing of new technology solutions in terrestrial and satellite industries. David is also our chief drone pilot, focusing on drone filming for Darwin, and more recently designing, building and testing Darwin’s connected autonomous drones for industrial applications.

Paul Proteasa

Autonomous Shuttle Operator

Paul studied maths and computer science at Liceul Teoretic Lupeni High School in Romania. Shortly after finishing his studies in 2012, he started working as a quality control member in a ZF automotive factory. He has three years of experience driving buses, and he brings his expertise and his enthusiasm for meeting new people to his role as an autonomous shuttle safety operator for Darwin. He loves travelling, and he enjoys long walks along the river with his family.

Nuran Acur

Regulations Lead

Steve Brown

Head of 5G CoE Harwell

Dan Calabrese

Video Production Editor

Andrew Davies

Consultant

Bryony Grimes

Video Production Editor

Bryony’s main role in Darwin is the production of visual content for PR purposes, building strong narratives that resonate with our audiences and bring Darwin’s vision to life. Bryony also supports our chief drone pilot on filming days, ensuring that the public and team are kept safe and that we adhere to the UK CAA’s Drone Code.

Ankita Magdum

Web Developer

Ankita is currently working with Cognizant Technology Solutions and Darwin Innovation Group as a frontend web developer. She has worked with leading telecom services, developing various web applications with the goal of providing an enriching application experience to the end user. She has worked on different technology stacks such as Vanilla JS, Jquery, Angular JS, HTML, CSS, Vue JS and React JS. She is also an acrylic artist and an internationally certified yoga and wellness instructor.

Athar Meo

Network Architect

Rob Searle

Head of 5G

Abuzar Siddiqui

Software Developer

Abuzar is an experienced full stack software developer, who has developed enterprise-based applications both from the frontend and from the backend. He enjoys learning new tech stuff and use it to enhance his tech skills. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with family and playing games with friends, both indoors and outdoors. He also loves to travel to new places and explore our beautiful planet.

Zoran Spasojevic

Lead Architect

Zoran is a strategist, architect, technologist, consultant and technical leader with more than 20 years’ experience in the telecommunications industry, most of it in mobile communications. A passion for technology evolution and the future of the industry has been his driver throughout his career. He leads the Darwin technology and architecture streams on behalf of Telefonica UK, where he has worked for over a decade. Zoran’s main focus is to lead the evolution of 5G technology and all associated platforms in order to meet future demand.

Aidan Syed

Enterprise Architect

ADVISORY BOARD

Brendan O'Rourke

Board Chairman, VP Bain

Milos Petrovic

CEO, Darwin Innovation Group

Daniela Petrovic

Darwin Delivery Director

Enrique Nadales Blanco

CTIO Telefonica Group

Prof. Tim Morris

University of Oxford

Sergio Budkin

Telefónica Director of Business Products and Propositions

Nick Amin

COO, Aviva

Manju Kygonahally

Cognizant, Business Unit Leader – Communications, Media & Technology Solutions

Daniela Petrovic

Darwin Delivery Director

Enrique Nadales Blanco

CTIO Telefonica Group

Enrique has been an executive of Telefónica Group for many years, covering major executive roles and driving and executing Telefónica Group strategy. A physicist by background (PhD, University of Madrid), Enrique’s interests are in technological innovation and fast delivery of Telefónica innovation blueprints to the business and consumer markets.

Prof. Tim Morris

University of Oxford

Tim has been a professor at Oxford since 2002. Before that he was a professor at Imperial College, London, and at London Business School. He has a BA (Hons) from Cambridge University and an MSc and PhD from the London School of Economics.

He is known as a world-leading scholar on the organisation and management of professional service firms and has developed proprietary models of innovation and competitive advantage which he uses in working with leading firms.

His other research, conducted with colleagues at Oxford, examines the role and development of CEOs in large corporations. Based on interviews with over 150 CEOs worldwide, this research explores what it takes to lead a large corporation today. It was launched at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, and has been widely covered in the media. His work has been featured by Harvard Business Review, The Economist, Financial Times, CNN and Forbes.

Tim’s role in Darwin is in developing business modelling related predominantly to the HUT, and in understanding the dynamics of the telecom and satellite industry connection in terms of organisation and as part of a new industry vertical.

Milos Petrovic

CEO, Darwin Innovation Group

Brendan O'Rourke

VP, Bain

Brendan is an Expert Partner in Bain's CME Enterprise Technology Practice focused on Enterprise Technology, Telecommunications and Digital Transformation, and a Telecommunications Management Forum Open Digital Architecture Forum Board Member. Brendan has held senior roles in 'blue chip' as well as 'start-up' organisation and has 12 years' experience in CIO/CTO roles and over 30 years' experience in the telecommunications and information technology industries, focusing on operations management, technology implementation and business transformation. Brendan's in-depth knowledge of information and communications technology, excellent communication skills, commercial acumen and extensive executive management experience make him uniquely positioned to provide business leadership within modern technology-based organisations.

Brendan sits on the board of Darwin as a chairman, with the additional role of attracting important industry players to the project, showcasing the progress of Darwin, shaping the strategic direction of Darwin and advising on investment plans.

Sergio Budkin

Telefónica Director of Business Products and Propositions

Nick Amin

COO, Aviva

Manju Kygonahally

Cognizant, Business Unit Leader – Communications, Media & Technology Solutions

PARTNERS

Telefónica is one of the world’s leading communications services providers. Its objective is to create, protect and promote fixed and mobile connections for its customers, helping them to take control over their digital lifestyle. Therefore, its primary offer to customers is the connectivity they need to interact and live. Telefónica operates in the market through simple products and services, while protecting the data of its customers and managing it in a responsible way.

Telefónica is a telco that relies on modern technology in order to create a better and more inclusive society. It aims to give its customers the ability to reach the digital world no matter their location, economic status or digital knowledge.

Telefónica is a completely private company that offers telecommunications services in 17 countries, headquartered in Madrid (Spain).

Financial figures:

356.2 million accesses in total.
48,693 million euros in total income.
55% of revenues in Europe, 43% of revenues in Latin America.
Telefónica owns and operates its own global IP network in over 40 markets. Telefónica maintains strategic partner agreements to offer its services in over 170 countries, providing customers with coverage wherever they are and wherever they want to be.

We are responsible for all strategic decisions on the UK civil space programme and provide a clear, single voice for UK space ambitions. UK Space Agency is an executive agency, sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy.

The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe’s gateway to space. Its mission is to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space continues to deliver benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world.

Hispasat is a Spanish satellite communications operator, leader in the distribution of content in Spanish and Portuguese. With more than 25 years of experience, the Hispasat Group maintains an important presence on the Iberian Peninsula and in Latin America. Hispasat has solidly positioned itself in high growth markets and has a stable strategic client base. Hispasat distributes more than 1,250 television and radio channels through its powerful fleet of satellites and is a key driver for the Spanish aerospace industry.

Hispasat's mission is to connect people regardless of region, to be recognised leaders in the provision of advanced communication services via satellite, and to maintain a permanent awareness of the obligation to satisfy our customers' needs through quality, efficiency and reliability, creating value for our shareholders and interest groups, as well as promoting territorial balance, societal integration and the development of our employees.

Hispasat's vision is to be a leader in satellite communications in America, Spain and Portugal, to develop a solid position in Europe from the East, Middle East and North Africa that ensures us a place among the top five companies in worldwide satellite communications, and to provide innovative products and services, ensuring our profitability and growth and enabling us to respond to the challenges and needs of our customers.

Founded in 1451, the University of Glasgow is the fourth oldest university in the English-speaking world and has been named Scottish University of the Year 2018.

The University of Glasgow includes among its alumni the father of economics Adam Smith, and the Adam Smith Business School is named in his honour. The Adam Smith Business School sustains and fosters a place of research-informed and professionally focused work of outstanding quality, bringing together inspiring people for the purposes of research, learning and teaching, and engaging with corporate and policy connections, with impact locally and globally.

The Business School continues research in international finance, international economics and macroeconomics. As of 2016 the business school offered four undergraduate and 35 postgraduate programmes, as well as various PhD degrees, and is one of few institutions holding the honourable triple crown accreditation.

Areas of research include:

International business and enterprise. The International Business and Enterprise (IBE) cluster is a leading centre for the study of economic globalisation and international business. We conduct world-class research into the impact of globalisation on organisations and into the role of international firms in economic development and transnational governance.
Strategy and technology management. The Strategy and Technology Management (STM) cluster has a focus on a range of issues that sit at the interface between the use of technology within organisations and the implications that those technologies can have for a range of communities of practice, including social groupings that use or are affected by those technologies.
Services and operations management: The Services and Operations Management cluster includes members whose research is in the general areas of operations management, management science and innovation. Members work to understand and generate solutions to problems in the delivery of services and goods that generate value for organisations in the public, private and third sectors

Our community of academics, students, alumni, staff and friends is truly global and has representatives from all over the world and from different sectors. We develop people who can analyse complex problems, devise pragmatic solutions and implement them working as part of a team. This makes our alumni some of the most effective employees and leaders for the world’s foremost organisations.