George Kontopoulos
Softwarized Networks Director at Eight Bells Ltd- Claim this Profile
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Bio
Konstantin Prigkipakis
George was indirectly reporting to me in the first years of the creation of Q-Telecom, from 2001 to 2005, and directly in the later years of Q -Telecom, having been promoted to the overall Technical Director, from 2005 to 2007. I was always impressed by the rational approach of George to the solution of complex situations. His knowledge, professionalism and positive attitude reflected on the whole technical department, allowing his personnel to apply their full capabilities. He was in a few words a major contributor to the friendly climate which characterized the efficient operation of Q-Telecom. His major responsibilities and projects undertaken were: o Translating company’s business objectives in technology strategy and delivering a capital efficient network with the required service innovation, surpassing 10% market share in just 4 years, reaching 1M subscribers and 190M euro annual revenue. o Managing the network engineering & deployment of a rapidly growing Fixed & Mobile telecoms operator from startup operations to a successful sale. o Regulatory compliance, implementation of interconnection agreements with other operators and preparation of the technical section of the GSM license bid. Major projects: o National Roaming for the mobile network with inter-operator handover capability (innovative project at the time). o Replacement of an IN Prepaid billing system with a new converged Prepaid/Postpaid charging platform for the fixed and GSM networks. o Mobile and fixed number portability. o Field trial of a WiMAX access network. o National & international voice & data network dimensioning & expansion for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. o Participation in the due diligence process from interested private equity funds, leading to the successful sale of the company for 350M euro. o Facilitation of the merging of the Q-Telecom network to Wind Hellas’, once both companies were acquired by the same ownership. I, thus, would recommend George for any serious opportunity in the Telecommunications sector. His track record and personality are guarantees of immediate and succesful integration in any demanding environment.
Michael Senis
With George I had an excellent cooperation setting up the commercial agreement between AIA- QTelecom and realising the Q-Telecom installations before the 2004 olympic games. Fast thinker, result oriented, motivated with a lot of humour it was real pleasure working with George.
Konstantin Prigkipakis
George was indirectly reporting to me in the first years of the creation of Q-Telecom, from 2001 to 2005, and directly in the later years of Q -Telecom, having been promoted to the overall Technical Director, from 2005 to 2007. I was always impressed by the rational approach of George to the solution of complex situations. His knowledge, professionalism and positive attitude reflected on the whole technical department, allowing his personnel to apply their full capabilities. He was in a few words a major contributor to the friendly climate which characterized the efficient operation of Q-Telecom. His major responsibilities and projects undertaken were: o Translating company’s business objectives in technology strategy and delivering a capital efficient network with the required service innovation, surpassing 10% market share in just 4 years, reaching 1M subscribers and 190M euro annual revenue. o Managing the network engineering & deployment of a rapidly growing Fixed & Mobile telecoms operator from startup operations to a successful sale. o Regulatory compliance, implementation of interconnection agreements with other operators and preparation of the technical section of the GSM license bid. Major projects: o National Roaming for the mobile network with inter-operator handover capability (innovative project at the time). o Replacement of an IN Prepaid billing system with a new converged Prepaid/Postpaid charging platform for the fixed and GSM networks. o Mobile and fixed number portability. o Field trial of a WiMAX access network. o National & international voice & data network dimensioning & expansion for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. o Participation in the due diligence process from interested private equity funds, leading to the successful sale of the company for 350M euro. o Facilitation of the merging of the Q-Telecom network to Wind Hellas’, once both companies were acquired by the same ownership. I, thus, would recommend George for any serious opportunity in the Telecommunications sector. His track record and personality are guarantees of immediate and succesful integration in any demanding environment.
Michael Senis
With George I had an excellent cooperation setting up the commercial agreement between AIA- QTelecom and realising the Q-Telecom installations before the 2004 olympic games. Fast thinker, result oriented, motivated with a lot of humour it was real pleasure working with George.
Konstantin Prigkipakis
George was indirectly reporting to me in the first years of the creation of Q-Telecom, from 2001 to 2005, and directly in the later years of Q -Telecom, having been promoted to the overall Technical Director, from 2005 to 2007. I was always impressed by the rational approach of George to the solution of complex situations. His knowledge, professionalism and positive attitude reflected on the whole technical department, allowing his personnel to apply their full capabilities. He was in a few words a major contributor to the friendly climate which characterized the efficient operation of Q-Telecom. His major responsibilities and projects undertaken were: o Translating company’s business objectives in technology strategy and delivering a capital efficient network with the required service innovation, surpassing 10% market share in just 4 years, reaching 1M subscribers and 190M euro annual revenue. o Managing the network engineering & deployment of a rapidly growing Fixed & Mobile telecoms operator from startup operations to a successful sale. o Regulatory compliance, implementation of interconnection agreements with other operators and preparation of the technical section of the GSM license bid. Major projects: o National Roaming for the mobile network with inter-operator handover capability (innovative project at the time). o Replacement of an IN Prepaid billing system with a new converged Prepaid/Postpaid charging platform for the fixed and GSM networks. o Mobile and fixed number portability. o Field trial of a WiMAX access network. o National & international voice & data network dimensioning & expansion for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. o Participation in the due diligence process from interested private equity funds, leading to the successful sale of the company for 350M euro. o Facilitation of the merging of the Q-Telecom network to Wind Hellas’, once both companies were acquired by the same ownership. I, thus, would recommend George for any serious opportunity in the Telecommunications sector. His track record and personality are guarantees of immediate and succesful integration in any demanding environment.
Michael Senis
With George I had an excellent cooperation setting up the commercial agreement between AIA- QTelecom and realising the Q-Telecom installations before the 2004 olympic games. Fast thinker, result oriented, motivated with a lot of humour it was real pleasure working with George.
Konstantin Prigkipakis
George was indirectly reporting to me in the first years of the creation of Q-Telecom, from 2001 to 2005, and directly in the later years of Q -Telecom, having been promoted to the overall Technical Director, from 2005 to 2007. I was always impressed by the rational approach of George to the solution of complex situations. His knowledge, professionalism and positive attitude reflected on the whole technical department, allowing his personnel to apply their full capabilities. He was in a few words a major contributor to the friendly climate which characterized the efficient operation of Q-Telecom. His major responsibilities and projects undertaken were: o Translating company’s business objectives in technology strategy and delivering a capital efficient network with the required service innovation, surpassing 10% market share in just 4 years, reaching 1M subscribers and 190M euro annual revenue. o Managing the network engineering & deployment of a rapidly growing Fixed & Mobile telecoms operator from startup operations to a successful sale. o Regulatory compliance, implementation of interconnection agreements with other operators and preparation of the technical section of the GSM license bid. Major projects: o National Roaming for the mobile network with inter-operator handover capability (innovative project at the time). o Replacement of an IN Prepaid billing system with a new converged Prepaid/Postpaid charging platform for the fixed and GSM networks. o Mobile and fixed number portability. o Field trial of a WiMAX access network. o National & international voice & data network dimensioning & expansion for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games. o Participation in the due diligence process from interested private equity funds, leading to the successful sale of the company for 350M euro. o Facilitation of the merging of the Q-Telecom network to Wind Hellas’, once both companies were acquired by the same ownership. I, thus, would recommend George for any serious opportunity in the Telecommunications sector. His track record and personality are guarantees of immediate and succesful integration in any demanding environment.
Michael Senis
With George I had an excellent cooperation setting up the commercial agreement between AIA- QTelecom and realising the Q-Telecom installations before the 2004 olympic games. Fast thinker, result oriented, motivated with a lot of humour it was real pleasure working with George.
Credentials
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Cybersecurity and Privacy in the IoT
Curtin UniversityApr, 2019- Nov, 2024 -
Big Data for Smart Cities
IEEE -
Enabling Technologies for Data Science and Analytics: The Internet of Things (IoT)
Columbia University in the City of New York -
USER INNOVATION: A Path To Entrepreneurship
MIT Sloan School of Management
Experience
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Eight Bells Ltd
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Cyprus
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IT Services and IT Consulting
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1 - 100 Employee
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Softwarized Networks Director
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Oct 2020 - Present
As Softwarized Networks Director, reporting to CEO, I am responsible for directing telecoms domain, leading multiple R&D projects and industry engagements relating to 5G Mobile Technology, Defense Communications, Smart Power Grids, SDN / NFV and advanced cloud infrastructure solutions. I create commercial exploitation plans for state-of-the-art / new technologies within LTE-5G non-public networks for multiple vertical industries and secure communications. I lead and collaborate with multi-stakeholder consortiums, spanning several countries and industries. Key achievements include: ◼ Operated as Package Leader for EU funded R&D project, developing affordable 5G network offering. ◼ Won research proposal, focusing on end-to-end encryption to secure 5G-LTE communications. ◼ Conceptualized 7 5G technology enhancements that were identified as high potential innovations by Innovation Radar within the EC. Show less
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Company Confidential - Defence
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Doha, Qatar
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Project Director - Mission Critical LTE/5G
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Jun 2017 - Sep 2020
I was deployed as Project Director for LTE-5G MοD program, reporting to CEO and Commander Signal Corps within Qatar MοD, procuring, planning and deploying advanced nationwide wireless network with mission-critical capabilities, while recruiting / leading team of 5 experienced consultants. I was responsible for ensuring stakeholder commitment while managing expectation and required to innovate technology strategy while managing overall delivery against approved roadmap. Key achievements include: ◼ Led network and IT requirements definition, concept of operations and network planning. ◼ Developed technology strategy and roadmap for 5G and IoT of greenfield Public Safety LTE network. ◼ Navigated complicated military procurement guidelines to produce workable efficient vendor contract, delivering 30% savings. Show less
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Insite Management Inc
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United States
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Real Estate
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Project Director
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Apr 2012 - May 2017
As Project Director, reporting to CEO, I was responsible for directing ICT engagements for international technology consulting firm, delivering business and technology strategy for Airports, Stadiums, Telecom Operators, Real Estate and Infrastructure clients. Key achievements include: ◼ Leveraged local and remote teams, focusing on driving revenue for both business and customers. ◼ Developed TETRA / LTE technology and business strategy for private mobile network requirements. ◼ Won Best ICT Consultant in 2014 from Aéroports de Paris. Show less
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Infamous Labs
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Ireland
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Software Development
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1 - 100 Employee
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Head of Product
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Nov 2015 - Jan 2017
As Head of Product for developer tools start-up, reporting to Partners, I was responsible for creating cross-platform framework tools and cutting-edge analytics for Smart TV and Set-Top box app development. Key achievements include: ◼ Architected SDK for developers to create apps utilizing single HTML / CSS / JavaScript code base, significantly reducing development efforts while gaining exposure in multiple Smart TV platforms. ◼ Drove roadmap, feature definition and created specs for an SDK enabling cross-platform app development, analytics & notifications for Smart TVs & STBs. ◼ Drove system functionality and created specs for Engineering team to balance business requirements while maintaining low overheads. Show less
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Theta Microelectronics
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Semiconductor Manufacturing
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Project Director
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Mar 2013 - Jun 2015
As Project Director Cooperative R&D Projects, reporting to MD, I was responsible for Theta Microelectronics in Palo Alto CA, innovating RF chip designs for mobile and fixed wireless broadband data application. I was required to lead R&D projects for Greek design office, coordinating Consortium of private sector clients. Key achievements include: ◼ Led EU funded cooperative R&D project valued €5.2m that reduced 4G backhauling costs. ◼ Led R&D project, integrating 6-40GHz software programmable transceiver on 1*130nm BiCMOS chip. Show less
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ZTE Corporation
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China
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Telecommunications
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700 & Above Employee
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Key Account Manager
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Jun 2010 - Mar 2012
As Key account Manager, reporting to Regional Manager, I was responsible for managing product portfolio while ensuring profitable business growth and cultivating key relationships across Deutsche Telekom Group in Greece, Bulgaria and Romania / OTE & Cosmote Group. Key achievements include: ◼ Exceeded sales quotas and enhanced tie-in, winning 3 new contracts valued €5m. ◼ Orchestrated technology strategy for various network transformation proposals including National FTTx, IPTV, Single RAN, LTE, mHealth, Network Sharing and Managed Services. Show less
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WIND Hellas
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Greece
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Telecommunications
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400 - 500 Employee
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Director Network & Service Management
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Mar 2007 - Sep 2009
As Director of Network and Service Management, I was responsible for developing service management strategy of WIND Hellas, enhancing service fulfilment and assurance systems while improving end-to-end quality of service management.Key achievements include: ◼ Conceptualized numerous group-wide synergies for common infrastructure / OSS, Network Inventory. ◼ Pioneered best-practices that enabled unified KPI reporting and business process improvements.◼ Achieved €2m cost reduction, introducing common mobile and fixed network fault and performance management that enabled true multi-domain service management. Show less
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Network Technical Director
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Mar 2001 - Feb 2007
As Network Technical Director, reporting to CEO, I was responsible for recruiting then leading team of +50 Engineers and Managers, directing network engineering, nationwide deployment and operation of fixed and mobile telecoms operator from scratch to 1.4m subscribers and then successful sale valued €350m.Developed the technology strategy, launching a full portfolio of consumer & enterprise services & innovation, surpassing 10% market share in just 4 years, reaching €190M annual revenue.Key achievements include:◼ Managed nationwide wireless network deployment and optimization.◼ Directed base station swap project (Ericsson to Huawei) and large-scale field trial of WiMAX access network.◼ Ensured seamless services operation during Athens 2004 Olympic Games, focusing on athletic venue coverage, voice and data network dimensioning and expansion, lawful intercept and network security. Show less
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TIM Hellas
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Telecommunications
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1 - 100 Employee
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Central Planning & Coordination Manager
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May 2000 - Mar 2001
As Central Planning and Coordination Manager, reporting to COO, I was responsible for aiding COO with strategy translation and implementation, technology governance, Network initiative development, resource utilization and evaluation of investment spending. Key achievements include:◼ Developed high-level marketing and operations annual plans and evaluated investment spending requirements for network infrastructure, new products and services for launches. ◼ Ensured network build up in-line with marketing plans, minimizing new product and services delays.◼ Engaged in product development and project management of ISP, commercial offering of WAP service and commercial launch of HSCSD service. Show less
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Network Planning & Coordination Manager
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May 1998 - Apr 2000
As Network Planning and Coordination Manager, reporting to CTO, I was responsible for supervising 3 Engineers, establishing Network Planning function and for planning, controlling and coordinating network expansion and relevant annual budget.Key achievements include:◼ Developed traffic prediction tools leveraging traffic modelling to achieve timely core network and interconnection expansion that reduced costs and negative seasonality impacts / traffic peaks.◼ Conceived, planned and implemented core network topology enhancement and hardware modernization that reduced floor space, advanced service offering and reduced investment requirements. Show less
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Network Quality & Traffic Engineer
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May 1995 - Apr 1998
As Network Quality and Traffic Engineer, I was responsible for analyzing network quality of service while developing drive testing strategy to then identify and investigate problems affecting network performance. Responsible for forecasting traffic and translating quality issues into financial terms.
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Education
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Massachusetts Institute of Technology - Sloan School of Management
Entrepreneurship, Building the company from the customer up -
Athens University of Economics and Business
MBA, Telecommunications -
The Ohio State University
MSc, Electrical Engineering -
National Technical University of Athens
Diploma in Technology and Innovation Management in Enterprises -
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki (AUTH)
BSc, Electrical Engineering