About WiTT

Background

WiTT was founded in November 2001 by a group of women executives all working in the communications and technology industries in the UK. These women realised that often they were the only woman in their organisation at a senior level and they set up WiTT to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and to share experiences.

Aims & Objectives

• To network and meet other women who share a common interest in the telecommunications and technology industries.
• To educate members on current and future trends in the industry.
• To provide guidance and mentoring through the exploration of real-life career paths.
• To share ideas about how to operate in the current work environment.

Organisation

Women in Telecoms and Technology Limited (WiTT) is set up as a company limited by guarantee.

Download WiTT’s Memorandum & Articles of Association (PDF, 500KB)

The current Directors are:

	Stephanie Liston Stephanie Liston has worked with businesses of all sizes in a wide variety of countries and sectors, providing strategic business advice as well as legal advice. A qualified lawyer in the US and UK, she was a Non-Executive Director of the Office of Communications (Ofcom) from 2005 to 2008, a Director of the European Competitve Telecommunications Association (ECTA) from 2000 to 2005, co-chairman of the Communications Committee of the International Bar Association from 2004-2006 and the co-founder and Chair of Women in Telecoms and Technology (founded in 2000 with current membership of over 500). Stephanie has advised on strategic regulatory issues, contractual negotiations and commercial transactions for numerous companies in the UK, European and international communications sector since 1990 – when she was a senior in-house lawyer for MCI Communications Corporation. She is now Managing Director of Peasenhall Ventures Limited, a communications consultancy, providing commercial services and contemporary answers to a wide range of private and public sector clients. .
	Annette Nabavi Annette is a specialist in strategic partnerships, business planning and financing strategy and runs an independent strategy advisory business working with clients on business and financial strategy. Previously, she was the CEO of XchangePoint Holdings where, over 3 years, she developed the company to become one of the fastest growing and successful metro broadband interconnect companies in Europe. Before joining XchangePoint, Annette Nabavi was a Director at ING Barings and the Global Head of Business Development in the Telecommunications Corporate Finance team. She joined ING Barings from the PA Consulting Group where she was a Senior Partner focussing on strategy and business planning for telecommunications and technology clients. Annette has an MA from Oxford University and a doctorate from the University of Dijon, in France.
	Anne Heal Anne Heal became Managing Director, Strategy, for Openreach, BT’s access network business, in 2009. Previously she was Managing Director, Sales, Products and Marketing for Openreach and prior to that was BT’s Director of Regulatory Affairs where she led the team that negotiated with Ofcom to create a functionally separate network business. Anne has had a number of other roles in BT including Director of Strategic Planning; Director, Business Development; Head of the Chairman’s Office (and Head of the combined offices of the Chairman and Chief Executive). She also had responsibility for building major networks and infrastructure in the South of England, and originally joined BT to produce sales and marketing materials. After graduating, Anne worked for the Ford Motor Company and a major UK advertising and communications agency. Anne is a Sloan Fellow of the London Business School, has a Masters Degree in Management from London University and an MA in Politics, Philosophy and Economics from Somerville College, Oxford. She is a director of Women in Technology and Telecoms (WiTT) and is married with 4 children.
	Michelle Senecal de Fonseca Michelle Senecal de Fonseca has developed a career of 25 years in international telecommunications and technology by managing large-scale corporations and small entrepreneurial start-ups owned by the public markets and private equity. With operational experience in more than 50 countries on all continents, she has primarily worked with NextiraOne, Worldport, Global One, Sprint International and US West International. Ms. Senecal de Fonseca’s executive positions have ranged from CFO, to head of Sales and Marketing, Corporate Development, Strategic Planning, and Corporate Communications. Having joined the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in early 2007, Ms. Senecal de Fonseca manages the Telecom, Informatics and Media banking team and its associated investment portfolio within the international financial institution. The EBRD, owned by 61 countries and two intergovernmental institutions, aims to foster the transition from centrally planned to market economies from central Europe to central Asia. Ms. Senecal de Fonseca holds a dual degree in Business and Political Science from the University of Kansas and Masters in Business from Thunderbird School of Global Management in Phoenix, Arizona where she also serves on the school’s Global Council. Ms. Senecal de Fonseca has served on the board of a variety of American and European tech companies. She is married with three children
	Audrey Mandela Audrey Mandela was Co-Founder of Multimap, one of the world’s leading online mapping providers, where she acted as the company’s corporate counsel and marketing director, and was a board director and Company Secretary. Multimap was sold to Microsoft in December 2007. Audrey also runs Mandela Associates, which provides market research and consulting services for select clients in the telecom sector. Audrey was formerly Senior Vice President, International, for the Yankee Group, one of the industry’s leading IT research firms. As Senior VP, Audrey was responsible for managing the Yankee Group’s research, consulting and sales activities in Europe, Latin America and Asia. She is a frequent speaker at telecom industry events around the world, and the author of numerous reports and studies on global telecom trends.