Meet the team
Executives
>> David Somen, Managing Director
David founded Virtual IT in 2001. In addition, David has also founded and managed two other highly successful technology companies - LCR Telecom Group and AccessKenya Group. LCR Telecom Group, a telephony business servicing approximately 10,000 corporate customers, was sold to PRIMUS, a NASDAQ listed company, in 2000. David subsequently became Managing Director of PRIMUS Europe, where he managed a budget of about $300 million and was responsible for about 1,000 employees.
David is currently Director of AccessKenya, the leading Corporate ISP in Kenya, and splits his time between this role and Virtual IT.
David has a Law Degree from Oxford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
>> Natalie Ayres, Chief Operating Officer
In her role as Chief Operating Officer, Natalie jointly runs the business with David, and is responsible for driving Virtual IT’s expansion into the Software as a Service arena.
Natalie brings a wealth of valuable knowledge and industry contacts to Virtual IT. She has over 20 years’ experience within major international blue chip technology companies, including sales, marketing and operations across different customer segments and with a broad reach of business partners and industry bodies. This includes over 15 years working for Microsoft UK where, in her last role, she resided on the UK Board of Directors and was responsible for Microsoft’s SMB and Channel Partner business in the UK, driving over $1 billion in revenues and overseeing a staff of 330 people.
>> Liam Strong, Non Executive Chairman
Liam, Virtual IT’s non executive Chairman, is the Partner and Managing Director of the European operations of Cerberus Capital Partners, a leading US private equity fund. Liam’s extensive management experience includes the roles of CEO of Teleglobe Inc, a billion dollar international telecoms service provider, CEO of MCI International and CEO of Sears Europe. Liam has also worked for Proctor & Gamble, was CEO of Reckitt North American and COO of British Airways.
Liam was Chairman of the Advisory Board on Telecoms Security to the UK Government (2002-2005) and is a member of the Governing Council of the Ashridge Business School.
>> Jonathan Somen, Non Executive Director
Jonathan, Virtual IT’s non executive director, is the Managing Director of AccessKenya, which under his guidance has become Kenya’s leading corporate internet service provider. In 2007, AccessKenya became the only listed internet company on the Nairobi Stock Exchange. Prior to his role at AccessKenya, Jonathan co-founded LCR Telecom Group with his brother David, running its international operations.
>> Paul Tiller, Non Executive Director
Paul was the Chief Financial Officer of Cargill Europe, with over 800 staff reporting to him. He has also held a number of senior positions at Philip Morris and today sits on the board of several companies.
Management Team
>> Bryn Morgan, Commercial Manager
Bryn currently works in a business development role that has varied responsibilities, including development and management of new product streams, pre-sales consultancy, supplier relationships, partner relationships, and liaison between the commercial and technical sides of the business. Bryn has a particular interest in IT outsourcing to the SMB sector and closely monitors the analysis and changes with the market.
Bryn has been with Virtual IT since 2003, and has worked in various roles including running the implementation team, developing strategic partnerships and managing purchasing and supplier relationships. Prior to joining Virtual IT, Bryn spent a short while in the public sector, before joining an international advertising conglomerate working on its back-end IT infrastructure and IT support.
Bryn graduated from the Univeristy of Wales Swansea with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science.
>> Toby Wakelin, Head of Customer Services
Currently responsible for Virtual IT’s Customer Service and Customer Engineering departments, Toby heads up an expanding team of helpdesk personnel, build room technicians, and systems engineers.
Toby has worked within customer services for 12 years. His first team leader role was in the Sales Administration department of Powergen’s (formerly TXU Energi) industrial and commercial retail division. In 2004, he moved into IT Support for Tech Team Global, a market leader for outsourced helpdesk services, where he took on the role of managing Ford UK’s IT helpdesk, supporting 26,000 users across Europe.
Toby graduated from Greenwich University with a Bachelor of Science in Multimedia Technology. Toby holds a Six Sigma Green Belt and is ISO9000 qualified and ITIL trained.
>> Tom Playfoot, Head of Customer Relations
Tom has played a key role in the growth and development of Virtual IT. Two years ago, he set up the Client Relationship department to bring more effective and proactive account management to Virtual IT’s customers.
Until the 1997 election, Tom worked in the House of Commons for a prominent Labour MP. He then started working for David Somen in a number of roles with a strong focus on operations and customer service. Following a two year stint in Kenya as General Manager for the group’s international telecoms and internet provider, Tom returned to London to join Virtual IT from its inception.
Tom graduated from QMW, University of London, with a BA in politics.
>> Simon Hartog, Head of Technology
Simon is an infrastructure specialist and systems analyst who has been involved with Virtual IT since its inception. As Head of Technology, Simon has been responsible for the strategy, design and building of the product infrastructure, as well as the ongoing product enhancements and evolution required to enable the Virtual IT solution to deliver its critical service levels to its customers. Simon has extensive experience in analysing business IT and enterprise hosting requirements and building cost-effective platforms for clients.
Prior to Virtual IT, Simon was Senior Systems Engineer at NTT/Verio, which at the time was the world’s largest web hosting company. He was instrumental in building some of NTT/Verio’s largest Windows-based enterprise web hosting solutions and he also designed and built the Europe-wide backup solution to protect customer systems throughout NTT/Verio’s European hosting centres.
Simon is a Chartered IT Professional, a Fellow of the Chartered Institute for IT and a Professional Member of the Institute of Engineering and Technology.