It’s almost the end of another month (time is flying!) which means it’s time for another ‘Behind Billsby’ team Q&A! This week we’re pleased to spend some time with our fantastic CTO, David Fowler. Join David as he explains how his first role influenced the inception of Billsby, why he’s so proud of what the team has achieved in 2020, and what he watches when he’s not working!
Name: David Fowler
Company role: Chief Technology Officer
Quote that has inspired you: “If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse.” – Jim Rohn
Hi, David! Thanks so much for taking the time to talk with us today. To start with, can you describe your role in one sentence?
Building a business and empowering a team that can deliver for us and our customers.
What was your first job, and how has it influenced your career today?
I was an apprentice at British Telecom – the most comprehensive technical education imaginable. There is not much about telecommunications that I have not worked with and experienced.
Tell us more!
Well, I joined BT at 16 years old - they sponsored me through college, and gave me the opportunity to gain experience across pretty much every field in telecoms. I was lucky enough to get into mobile telecoms right at the very beginning, working on the first UK system to go live in London. My mobile knowledge and experience led to me being headhunted to go to California, where I was based for 12 years (though I was actually working all around Europe building new networks). The American company eventually merged with Vodafone and I was employed in Germany for a spell, working in Vodafone’s global division - which is where I first met Dariush Zand [Billsby’s CCO].
More recently I was European CTO for Huawei Technologies. I spent some time after that living and working in the Channel Islands, where I met Ian Campbell [Billsby’s Chairman]. One of the things telecommunication companies do extremely well is billing (accurately charging customers on a recurring basis, with multiple different tariffs, different plans and complex usage patterns); so, when Ian, Dariush and I came together, we quickly realised that the combined knowledge and experience we had of Telco billing was hugely relevant in the new subscription culture... and from there came Billsby.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
In any presentation, get your point across in slide one, because most people never get to slide two…!
What values/skills have been the most important to your professional life?
Communication and decision making! Listen, understand, decide…
As mantras go, that’s a great one! And what do you love most about Billsby?
I love the fact that it is 100% ours. In less than a year we have built, launched and optimised an incredibly complex platform - and it’s already the best one out there.
Now for an easier question… how do you occupy yourself outside of work? Do you have any favourite podcasts, tv shows or reading materials?
Here are my top three for each category…
Podcasts: Freakonomics Radio; No Such Thing as a Fish; F1 Paddock Pass.
TV Shows: Star Trek; The X-Files; Game of Thrones.
Books: Doctor Copernicus (John Banville); Chatterton (Peter Ackroyd); How to Build a Car (Adrian Newey).
If you were a superhero, what would be your superpower?
Teleportation! I love travel but hate the time it takes to get anywhere.
