Matteo has devoted his career to maximizing the potential of global communications. He believes that the MEF must be the unequivocal voice and driver of trusted communications.

“We must champion the right to be recognized as critical digital infrastructure, because our services are vital to the global economy, playing an essential role in business innovation.”

If honored with a seat on the board, Matteo will serve as a connector and enabler within our community, working alongside other members to develop practices that protect customers and businesses. He believes that the strength of our industry relies on the trust and the innovation that the ecosystem as a whole can deliver.

“As critical digital infrastructure, we must challenge ourselves to remain at the forefront of innovation, focusing on creating value and safeguarding the trust demanded by today’s users.”

Andy Gladwin is Head of Mobile at MEF’s only marketing cloud member Cheetah Digital, which serves enterprises of all verticals across the globe. Over the last 15 years, Andy has worked across the mobile supply chain from messaging infrastructure, to carrier payment and SMS aggregators, developed mobile propositions for Marketing Clouds, led sales for Vodafone’s global SMS business and now he oversees all mobile strategy and operations at Cheetah.

During Andy’s career, he has consistently appreciated MEF’s role in developing an arena for thought leadership, networking and a framework to aid the evolution of the mobile industry. He has had the pleasure of being an active participant creating insight sessions, webinars and sitting on multiple ‘Jury’ panels within the Enterprise Communication programme. Most recently he enrolled as a founding member of the Content and Advertising initiative, where Cheetah’s data-first approach may add value outside of the direct mobile expertise.

If elected he will place his efforts on:

• Driving initiatives to attract more enterprise involvement within MEF
• Expanding attention to the growth sectors of Mobile Apps and Mobile Wallet
• Placing focus on mobile’s data role within the broader digital ecosystem
• Offering an alternative voice on the board representing an enterprise CRM outlook

Inderpal wants MEF to become an even more powerful force in the mobile industry. If elected to the MEF Board, Inderpal wants MEFs work on conversational messaging to be the engine of growth; and to expand internationally, especially into USA, Africa, and India.

Inderpal is an active member and participant at MEF. An expert in conversational messaging, he has contributed extensively to RCS initiatives. A frequent speaker at MEF, GSMA, and other industry events, Inderpal lives in USA, and has extensive experience in, and a deep understanding of mobile markets in USA, Europe, Africa, and India.

Inderpal, a visionary technocrat with over two decades of experience in mobile technologies, is the CEO of Dotgo. He has authored over 40 technical papers and over 50 issued patents. He has worked at IBM and Bell Labs; and is a serial entrepreneur who founded Dotgo (acquired by Gupshup), Kirusa, and Savera that revolutionized the industry through innovations in RCS, voice messaging, and billing. His work on recursion in SQL was incorporated into the SQL standard. He has a PhD in Computer Science from Stanford University, and a Bachelors from IIT Delhi, where he was awarded the President of India Gold Medal.

I’m Carlos and I strongly believe in the acceleration of digital transformation for all. For more than 5 years I’ve participated in different forums, pitching how this transformation should take place in the Wholesale, IoT and Cloud communications domains. Whilst doing so, I saw there was a real need to connect the dots and build bridges between the ecosystem and Enterprise, brands and SMBs.

My proposal as board director is to build the “Voice of the Customer” bridge, integrated in working groups and the Growth Strategy; new stakeholders participate, the deliverables come “alive”, real life business problems and solutions are showcased across industries and RFI-like reference frameworks are available. This way, MEF and members become recognised way beyond the mobile space alone as thought leaders, engaging with brands, Enterprise and SMBs.

Currently I’m part of the Future of Messaging and a founder of the Content & Advertising programme, actively promoting MEF and engaging to build industry solutions. I’m interested in areas like Metaverse, Blockchain and Customer Experience.

I’ve spent more than 15 years in the Mobile industry across Wholesale, IoT & Cloud Communications. I recently co-founded Enabld to power the future of business communications and facilitate the industry’s digital transformation.

It has been a privilege to be a part of the mobile ecosystem for the last 20 years and a member of this passionate MEF community for the last one year now. Every moment I, and my company Globe Teleservices, have spent in MEF as a member, participant, sponsor & contributor has been valuable.

Our company, GTS, and I live at the intersection of meeting the challenges of today’s emerging business needs in the telecom space. We are fostering the next-gen ecosystem to create the value chain in telecom space through building a connectivity platform for –Messaging, Voice, Security, RCS, CPaas, Content Advertising, Digital Identity, Fintech solutions – to bring personalization with customers.

We are fortunate to serve emerging markets in Africa and Asia, in addition to the developed markets of the world. Our technology solutions tap the latest technology like AI and ML to address many of the important problems of our industry today.

Speaking as someone with a deep and early insight into crucial trends. It would be a true honour to serve on the MEF board as we together look to ride this wave of change to a bright and promising future.

This is a fascinating time for MEF. A huge opportunity exists to expand MEFs role in helping members collaborate, both telcos and vendors. Something I worked passionately on during 3 years at GSMA. Whether it is messaging, security, digital identity, or 5G monetisation, the ecosystem needs to work together to harness the opportunities, and MEF is the perfect conduit.

As a global company with a 10,000 strong enterprise base and 700+ mobile operator clients and partners, Infobip has a unique insight into the two sides of the mobile ecosystem and is actively involved in the development of new technologies and services.

Working with both operators and enterprises in Identity, RCS, SMS and CPaaS services,  our experience and use cases encountered should be of great interest to the audience of MEF and we are looking forward to further expanding our involvement with MEF activities.

As a board member, I’d share my experiences of 25 years in the telco ecosystem, founding, building and ultimately exiting companies in the mobile technology space, and consulting at vendors and GSMA. With experience gained across LatAm, APAC and Africa, I’d also look to address developing markets. MEF can play a critical role in connecting Identity, Fintech, M-Health and Education for the good of both ecosystem and consumer.

I am a firm believer in leading from the front and remain very actively involved in the Business Messaging company I created 13 years ago. I’ve personally seen just how important it is to network on a regular basis with stakeholders from across the industry and we are on a constant path of innovation. All of us.

Joining MEF we hit the ground running, signing up to the Business SMS Code of Conduct, contributing at many of the working groups and also sponsoring and attending many of MEF’s events. For an SME like us, membership of MEF allows us so many opportunities to raise our brand profile and grow our business.

Actively taking part is critical and should I be elected I would bring my energy and engagement to help actively shape MEF and proactively assist the MEF team in bringing on new members from the world of Messaging and beyond.

You’ve got to be in it to win it and can’t do so standing on the sidelines!

MEF today is even more relevant and exciting than it was when I helped found it in 2000. It’s the only trade association in our industry that brings together the whole value chain, instead of just representing one sectoral interest.

That’s what makes it a forum rather than a phalanx, a force for collaboration, and for jointly creating value. The industry today is unrecognisable compared to that of 2000, or even of 2008, when I was first elected chairman. That’s what makes the MEF so fascinating – we continuously evolve to meet the changing challenges, and our impact continuously grows. My contribution to the Board is threefold. Firstly, to provide some institutional vision, rooted in the past but absolutely focused on the future.

Secondly, to support the organisation’s expansion into the exciting new areas of personal data, personal identity and security, areas where I have sectoral expertise and commitment.

And thirdly, to lead the board in its governance roles, ensuring that MEF continues to earn the trust of you, the members, not just in what we do, but how we do it. I would be delighted to have once again your support to serve this unique, exciting and important organisation.

Hello! I’m head of Sales & Procurement, Global Messaging, at LANCK Telecom. LANCK services 1500+ partners, 3bln+ SMS and 4bln+ minutes annually. We also offer cutting-edge fraud prevention, roaming, authentication and other solutions for telcos and enterprises.

Since joining MEF two years ago, we have actively participated in its activities. We believe MEF facilitates open discussion of recent trends and threats and enables direct action for improving the mobile ecosystem. LANCK is also a member of GSMA, CFCA, i3 forum and GLF.

I’ve been working in telecommunications for 13+ years in voice, messaging, anti-fraud and mobile solutions. I have expertise with individual solutions and in implementing large-scale strategies that are imperative to business growth and sustainability within each level of the telecom market.

As a member of the board, I will use my vast industry experience and numerous personal relationships to:

• Strengthen MEF membership -  the number of members and the quality of information exchanged.
• Implement visions for advancing industry solutions such as RCS and IOT.
• Promote the Business SMS Code of Conduct and fraud detection and prevention for the mobile ecosystem’s long-term sustainability.
• Engage with industry stakeholders to enhance their current operations.

Good luck to all of the candidates!

MEF combines some of the biggest companies in the communication industry, but we could make do with a lot more of the direct enterprise perspective. We want to be able to educate our clients and partners to make better decisions and drive the industry forward cementing a higher standard for quality and service.

With 95% of the companies around the world not using messaging as a part of their communication toolset, there is a lot for us to do to bring more enterprises to the fold and achieve more.

That will be my main mission – bringing enterprises closer to the MEF community and sharing our knowledge with a wider audience.

Here’s a few quick ideas to start us off:

• An interview series with various enterprises from different industries on their use of communication tools and the challenges they face
• Draw more attention to helping enterprises fight fraud and learn what impacts them most specifically – how can we help them overcome?
• Building an academy for professionals in our industry on enterprises, their communication tool use and how to advise them better
• Bringing more enterprises to MEF as members who would be able to share their ideas and perspectives.

I would be honoured to serve on the MEF Board.

I have worked in the Mobile industry for over 25 years. I am a Co-Founder of Openmind Networks, a leading Messaging company and also of Nettzer, a leading Mobile Identity and KYC company. Through my career I have worked in multiple roles from Engineering, to Product Management, to Business Development and Sales in different Telecom Markets.

Nettzer have been a very active MEF member and we find the MEF to be very effective advocate for the industry. We have established great business relationships with other members and, indeed, made personal friendships.

I’d like to see an active Board that works with all the MEF stakeholders. In particular I understand from my own personal experience how tough it is to establish and grow innovative companies. I will be an approachable and independent advocate for all up and coming companies who want to maximise what MEF can do for them and the Mobile industry.

There is a new wave of innovation happening in the Mobile Industry, CPaaS, Monetisation, Fraud Prevention, Identity, IoT – It’s a very exciting time – we can all benefit by working together to make MEF even more successful

I’d very much appreciate your vote, thank you.

Thomas Therkildsen is the Senior Director, Business Development for Syniverse in Europe. In this capacity he is responsible for advancing the agenda on emerging technologies amongst mobile network operators and adjacent sectors and ensures a consistent focus on the business value for services like RCS, Messaging, 5G, IoT and roaming.

Thomas has spent more than 25 years in the mobile communications industry and served with operators TDC and Vodafone Group as well as Singapore-based Bridge Alliance where he managed and led the roaming workgroup involving more than 20 different Asian markets. Thomas has significant experience from turning new technologies into products and services which can be marketed to consumers.

Syniverse is a proud member of MEF and has contributed especially in the Enterprise Communications Ecosystem where much emphasis has been put on advancing the digitization of messaging and the build of ecosystems and partnerships to support the industry and consumers alike.

As our world becomes ever more interconnected, the industry needs to get behind a common agenda on new communications solutions.

If elected, Thomas commits to the entire MEF Agenda with a particular focus on the IoT and Connectivity Ecosystems. Both areas represent a growth opportunity for the industry and MEF.

Anurag’s experience in the CPaaS ecosystem spans over a decade. As the Commercial Head of A2P Messaging at Tata Communications, he played a significant role in steering the business over a growth trajectory ever since its inception. He now heads Blockchain Initiatives for Carriers at Tanla Platforms.

As an active industry contributor, Anurag has served on the MEF Board from 2020-21, is part of MEF’s Compliance Committee and involves himself in areas such as Best Practice Sharing, Fraud Mitigation and Code of Conduct. He is currently the Founding Chair of i3forum’s Messaging Fraud Workgroup, an association where leading global Carriers collaborate on combating spam and fraud.

Anurag’s vision for MEF stands on two key pillars:

• Industry Collaboration: After successfully enabling collaboration between the i3forum and MEF since 2020 to promote a common agenda of “Fight Against Fraud”, he’d like to further strengthen this association between the Carriers @i3forum and CPaaS Community @MEF through joint workgroups, action plans and an enhanced MEF industry connect.

• Steering Innovation: Anurag believes that MEF must remain a flag-bearer of new innovations in the CPaaS ecosystem. Leveraging his experience of Blockchain and Cryptography enabled CPaaS solutions, he envisions tremendous scope for synergy and collaboration amongst MEF members around these new technologies.

Hello, I’m Rajeev from Tata Communications.

With more than a decade of experience in A2P messaging, Cloud communications and CPaaS. I bring a combination of technical skills and commercial market knowledge to support the work of MEF. I have worked with India mobile industry giants as well as with Sinch and Videocon Telecom, so have good insight into the areas served by MEF.

I am excited about the booming growth in the mobile communications sector, with mobile as a foundation for enterprises to improve customer satisfaction and grow revenue in the coming years.

If elected to serve on the MEF global board, my priorities would be to ensure that the interests of MEF member organisations outside of Europe are represented and that policy adoption and decision making is taken with a view to how developing markets can adopt sustainable approaches to adopting mobile services.

I believe we have a fantastic opportunity to expand MEF into new areas, particularly the relatively untapped Asia and India markets and my experience, expertise and enthusiasm about this industry qualify me as an ideal candidate to contribute to the direction and development of MEF in this expansion.

Thank you for your vote.

I have previously been very an active MEF Board Director having Chaired the Growth Committee in one of the most successful years, advised the finance committee and privileged to be Co-Vice Chair. Additionally, I have written content for whitepapers and spoken at many MEF events aimed at educating and informing our industry and target clients.

I hope to re-join the MEF board paying particular interest to ensuring members get value for money and the help they need to further their business goals in Mobile, Payments, Media and IoT.

Having spent over 25 years in the industry, I’ll bring experience and expertise to the Board.

I look forward to your kind support!

My goal is that of building a stronger MEF, through:

1.  With VOX being a leader in the Antifraud space, as recent prizes show, I aim to bring to the knowledge to the organization on the latest technologies, in addressing industry issues.
2. Increase MEF knowledge in discussing the pain points of MNOs and other industry players.
3. Being at the forefront of the A2P Voice trend, carrying discussions with both OTTs and MNOs, I bring to the table knowledge to be shared with members of the organization in preparing themselves and their organizations for the future.”

Ehsan is the CEO of VOX Carrier & VOX Technologies, with 20+ years of experience in Technology. His goal is optimizing the messaging world, alongside the safety, efficiency and user experience of authentication processes. VOX is a leader in A2P SMS monetization and a pioneer in Flash Calls (A2P Voice).

Recently, VOX won the Best Antifraud Solution title at the Global Carrier Awards, for their A2P Voice development. Ehsan & VOX hosted the webinars with the highest audience in MEF, constantly leveraging their network of customers and collaborators, whilst also bringing to the table research companies, for addressing topics from all relevant perspectives.

Dawood Ghalaieny is CEO of ZARIOT, a secure IoT connectivity company, the Chairman of Cellusys and has served as the Finance Director of MEF for the last 2 years. In 2020 he was elected for the first time, with a mandate to increase the relevance of the MEF, provide an infrastructure for education, as well as social engagement and networking. He is now standing for a second term.

Since joining the MEF, he has increased its relevance and profile significantly, amplified its social engagement despite the pandemic, strengthened its financial performance to guarantee its long-term success and is about to launch a myriad of educational programmes. All of these initiatives have been both impactful and transformational.

In his second term, he aims to invigorate the MEF with a younger profile of those involved, increase its professionalism, further strengthen its financial performance to set the MEF on a course that really makes it a key player in our Mobile Ecosystem.

With this renewed mandate, he aims to take the organization to the next level, fostering a stronger and more diversified ecosystem.