Jim, James, Ed and Ben
James Murray, Chief Executive Officer
James co-founded Alternative Networks in 1994 following several sales and engineering roles with London-based telecoms dealers. He was Joint Managing Director from 1994 until 2000 when he became Managing Director. In 2003 he became Chief Executive Officer. In 2005, James was awarded Ernst and Young’s “Young Entrepreneur of the Year” Award.
Edward Spurrier, Chief Financial Officer
Ed joined Alternative Networks as Finance Director in 1999. A member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, he trained and qualified at Coopers and Lybrand (now PwC) in London. He has over 12 years' public practice experience, with a focus on advising entrepreneurs on managing growth. He led the establishment of the billing, finance, legal and business development departments within Alternative Networks. His current responsibilities also include IT operations and development.
Ben Marnham, Chief Operating Officer
Ben graduated from the University of York in 1994 and joined Alternative Networks at its inception. His role expanded from Sales Manager in 1996 to include management of the telemarketing and account management operations in 1997. In 1998, he was promoted to Network Resale Director retaining responsibility for client management. Ben joined the Board of Directors in 1999 as Commercial Director and was appointed Chief Operating Officer in 2004.
Jim Sewell, Group Sales and Marketing Director
Jim graduated from Manchester University in 1993 and joined Alternative Networks in October 1994. In 1996 he became Sales Manager of one of the two sales teams, before setting up and managing the NGN Solutions division in 1997. In 1998 he took over management of the Managed Voice Solutions sales team, and in 1999 joined the Board as Sales Director. Appointed Group Sales Director in 2004, Jim is now responsible for new sales across the Group, as well as for the Marketing and Products teams, ensuring key focus on client retention and cross-selling throughout the newly enlarged Group.
Non-executive Directors
Tony Caplin, Non-executive Chairman
Tony was appointed as a Non-executive Director in April 2001, and Non-executive Chairman in 2010. He has helped numerous companies on the road to success and has held a number of senior management positions with Manchester News Ltd and Pacific Telesis. He is currently Chairman of Ant Plc and Ealing Hospital NHS Trust. In addition he is a Non-executive Director of Urban Wimax Networks plc, Northamber plc, Panmure Gordon plc and Hand Picked Hotels Limited.
Timothy Holland-Bosworth, Non-executive Director
Timothy has spent most of his working life in the financial services industry. This includes 25 years as a director of corporate finance in Kleinwort Benson Limited and 5 years within the Guinness Mahon Group, retiring 2 years after its acquisition by Investec Bank. He was a Chairman of Henderson Crosthwaite Corporate Finance and a Director of other Henderson Crosthwaite Group companies.
