Board of Directors

Sawan Gupta
SVP – Wireless Strategy & Head 5G Experience
Bharti Airtel Ltd

Sawan has been associated with Telecom Industry for 20 years and has wide experience in technical, product management, designing of solutions & services. Prior to Airtel, he has served various organizations such as Tata Teleservices, Nokia and Nortel.

In his last 12 years association with Bharti Airtel, he has given strategic direction for transformation of Airtel’s wireless network by driving network strategy, spectrum strategy, network ecosystem and abstracting new initiatives for best in class network experience. 

Thomas Locke
Chief Technical Officer
Global Reach Technology
Chair of the Networking Group

Thomas Locke is currently Chief Technology Officer of GlobalReach Technology Inc. and is a veteran of the Wi-Fi industry. Within his role as CTO, Thomas is leading technology and innovation across multiple teams that are based in the UK and Ireland. Thomas specializes in the design & delivery of software defined products and solutions that cater to the aviation, maritime, retail and hospitality industries which are serviced by a plethora of forms of telecommunications, such as fibre, satellite, cellular and point-to-point Wi-Fi.

Thomas is an active member of both the Wireless Broadband Alliance and the Seamless Air Alliance, where he is currently Chair of the Networking work group.

Mark Cheyney
IFEC Strategy, Performance and Operations Manager
IAG Loyalty
Chair of the Passenger Experience (PAX) Group
Chair of the Personalization Working Group

Mark Cheyney is the IFEC Strategy, Performance and Operations Manager at IAG Loyalty and is responsible for the strategic direction, in-service performance and operations of the inflight entertainment and connectivity services onboard. Mark believes that the importance of inflight connectivity will only grow, as airlines will look to monetise this platform and provide the best connected experience for their customers.

With 10 years of IFEC experience Mark has delivered numerous IFEC programmes with Virgin Atlantic, British Airways and other IAG Group airlines and in turn worked with all the major IFEC suppliers in the industry. Over that period Mark was proud to be a major contributor in the team that won the ‘Best Inflight Entertainment Innovation’ in 2017 leading the IFC development for IAG and the LEVEL portal. 

Mihaela Ambrozie 
Head of Operations 
Vodafone Roaming Services (VRS) 

Mihaela is a senior technology leader with strong international background and record of accomplishment in IT&Telco domains.  

Mihaela joined Vodafone in 1998 as Roaming Engineer in Romania. In 2009, Mihaela was part of the start-up team at VRS that created the basis of the award-winning Roaming Hub with the aim of offering superior roaming experience for operators and customers.

Since April 2022, Mihaela has been part of the VRS management as Head of Operations with end-to-end accountability, from strategy to delivery in areas such as customer roaming experience, technology footprint, transformation of infrastructure, data services and digital capabilities. 

Parallel to her role, Mihaela has been participating in the GSMA Association (GSMA) since 2000, focusing on standardization development and chairing the GSMA’s UPG (User-to-Network Interface Profile Group) for 6 years.

Mihaela holds an MSc degree in Electronics and Telecommunications and is passionate about cultural transformation through creativity, inclusion, and collaboration. 

With over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications and airline industries, Dermot has a rare understanding of the synergies and complexities of both the commercial and engineering aspects of the satellite communications business.

He is an aeronautical engineer by background, and has delivered complex, multi-million dollar international engineering programmes across a variety of aircraft systems, more recently specialising in in-flight connectivity systems. He has brought innovative technologies to market with leading aerospace companies such as Airbus, Meggitt, Parker Hannifan, and Inmarsat.

Leveraging his experience from across the aviation supply chain, he has an expansive understanding of an airlines technical and commercial requirements, operating models and risk appetite. He joined Eutelsat OneWeb, the world’s first integrated multi-orbit satellite communications network, in 2023 to lead the market development for commercial aviation in the Europe region, and is now the strategic account director for OneWeb’s vital relationships. He leverages his passion for innovation and excellence in the aviation sector, and his network of contacts and relationships, to develop bespoke solutions to enhance passenger and inflight connectivity – whilst making it commercially viable for airlines.