The month that was...

At the end of last year, I made a “risky” commitment to crafting a weekly internal round-up for our teams summarising business developments, activities, reflections, or leadership insights from my perspective. This was inspired by an old colleague of mine, Ashish Chowdhary, who used to do this at Nokia and for whom I have immense respect and friendship. What I love about these weekly blogs is that I write them in my style (not that I have style), nobody checks them (unlike this article ??), I add a few pictures (some are attached)n taken during the week and click Post on Viva Engage. I don’t know who exactly reads them, but I get enough (positive) feedback to give me motivation to continue every week.

Now in month five of the year, I’ve taken the bold step of sharing those insights monthly on my LinkedIn, connecting with you all in my network. So here you go, with a few of my personal pictures. I hope you’ll find these articles both valuable and interesting. And as long as you continue to engage with them, I’ll keep writing and sharing!

In the last 5 months, my weekly blog covered: Books, MTA, NY office, TfL, Bingo Townhall, Cirque du Soleil, Mid-Year reviews, Budget, business performance reviews, board meetings, Sciatica, MWC, Apogee, Cellnex Private networks, IWD, Apogee, Strategy, Livestreams, Roma, EID, Passover, Easter, Podcasts, people, development on the US West Coast, Table tennis, our shareholders, leadership and a lot of deals and much more I think!

Let’s start with some interesting reads. Over the Easter weekend, I had the opportunity to read more than ever. I finished two books that I highly recommend:

·??????? “Atomic Habits” by James Clear: This book provides fascinating insights into building effective habits. It’s not groundbreaking, but the practical tips and reflections apply not only to leadership but also to life and happiness.

·??????? “The Courage to Be Disliked”: Based on Adler Psychology, this book challenges conventional thinking and encourages self-acceptance. It’s a thought-provoking read for anyone seeking personal growth.

Additionally, I listened to two insightful podcasts from “The Diary of a CEO ” by Steven Bartlett (I rarely miss an episode). Brian Chesky (Airbnb CEO) and Daniel Ek (Spotify founder) shared reflections on culture, purpose, health, and relationships. I recommend checking out these episodes for valuable takeaways. And if you really want to listen to my all-time favourite podcast from Steven Bartlett, just listen to the 3 episodes with Mo Gawdat over the last 2 years.

Now, shifting gears to Boldyn’s business these are some developments I’m excited about:

·??????? Roma5G Project: We celebrated the official launch of the first public Wi-Fi square, Piazza Campidoglio, in Rome. This milestone marks the beginning of our strategic Roma5G connectivity project.

·??????? California Middle Mile Program: We received approval for the first two segments of this critical program. Achieving this ahead of schedule removes pressure and sets us up for a positive year-end.

·??????? Apogee Telecom Acquisition: We’re driving the closure of the Apogee Telecom acquisition. Apogee is a leading provider of on-campus connectivity infrastructure in the US Higher Education industry. Stay tuned for the Day 1 celebration soon.

·??????? Closing our acquisition of Cellnex’s private networks business: Now under the Boldyn umbrella, our Private Networks Europe business is growing our capability to interconnect the most complex environments like mines and ports with private networks. This expert team has already done +50 MPN deployments.

·??????? Connecting Venues Worldwide: We expanded our partnership with ASM Global to provide 5G, next-gen Wi-Fi and private networks to their entertainment venues (they have +350 worldwide!). We’re also working with Golden 1 Center supporting the Sacramento Kings with cutting-edge connectivity…just a few recent examples.

Other highlights this month

As you can imagine, a lot is happening within our business that’s shaping our culture and our bold thinking. I recently caught up with our Bold Women and Allies team. Their plan for the year is impressive, touching on four different life stages, and I believe their initiatives are valuable not only for women employees but also for male leaders. I’ll share some examples in my next updates from which any leader can benefit.

I joined a hidden London Tour at Charing Cross station with senior leaders from Transport for London (TfL), one of our key partners. It was fascinating to explore obscure corners where our LRN equipment resides, covering people with an emergency services network wherever they go. We are gearing up to put live stations and tunnels in the next 10 weeks, meeting the expectations of TfL, the four MNOs, and our own.

I had the pleasure of ending the month as a guest on the telecoms.com podcast . The podcast, known for its informal style, enjoys a wide listenership within the industry. During the episode, I spoke about Boldyn, our growth story, the telecom industry, the neutral host model, the telecom market, our purpose and impact, TfL, LINK, Rome, as well as French wine and other topics I can’t remember (not because of the French wine that we did not open!).

Lastly, as I wrap up this article, we’re finalising our future strategy with our Board in NYC. In my next article, I’ll tell you more about this visit and our connectivity expansion plans in the city that never sleeps.

That’s a wrap for this month! Tell me what you think. Until next time, stay curious and keep leading boldly!