KCom’s new chief executive is excited about the next chapter at the helm of one of Hull’s most recognisable brands after three years of intense activity before a backdrop no-one could have imagined. David Laister reports.
Tim Shaw joined KCom seeing growth potential, but the digital acceleration that a pandemic brought with a seismic shift in working arrangements - have brought a new dimension to the definition.
A £100 million expansion from the Hull heartland further into East Yorkshire and across the Humber Bridge to North Lincolnshire has led to customer growth of 600 per cent in newly connected areas, with clear reasoning.
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And the work by predecessors to establish the city as the most connected in the UK has provided the full fibre foundation to build on.
“Post-Covid the need to have stable, reliable broadband has never been more important,” he said, taking over from Dale Raneberg who has joined parent company Macquarie. “Who would have said two-and-a-half years ago we could all work from home? There was some disruption, some challenges, but ultimately the building of the digital infrastructure, that roll-out, really made a difference, and made it a success.”
Having completed an engineering degree, Mr Shaw started work in the mobile sector, as 3G was taking off, building networks for major operators, before moving to Ireland for the 3G and 4G roll-out there.
He returned with Vodafone and T-Mobile before joining BT, where he remained for 16 years, leading up to the role of chief technology innovation officer of the enterprise business, prior to the move to KCom.
“I bring all the experience I have on the engineering side of the business to what I saw as a great small business that had a real opportunity to grow,” he said of his 2019 arrival.
“It is unique in some respects, in how it was set up, but it had a large opportunity to grow the existing business and, primarily, through extension of the network as fibre became ever more important.”
That was seized upon, with a second phase now imminent.
“We are on track with the build, adding 30,000 to 40,000 passes of homes every year,” he said. We are due to finish the current phase in September, which has been a real success and we have had some great partners supporting us, and sales in the last financial year are up 600 per cent in expansion areas.
“The need for fibre is more and more prevalent, and when we go into an area we do a lot of pre-engagement, explain the difference between copper and fibre, and we’re finding that it has become more known now.
“We have now identified the next phase of where we want to build, and we’ve spoken with councils and MPs. North Lincolnshire has been a real success and we’re looking to get the next phase of investment secured and aim to then piggy back on the completion of the current work.”
Locations will be revealed soon, with package choice and customer service seen as key with the right product, with a big investment in digital systems to aid “how we sell, how we better inform customers and how we keep them updated”.
“You have to address customer service,” he said. “Customers have a lot of choices out there now.”
KCom provides both the network and the services, with 130 partners now involved in the wholesale element, “many of them strategic to our business moving forward,” he said.
The shape of the organisation changed significantly with the national ICT unit sale last year, on paper more than half of KCom as an entity.
“It has unlocked the potential KCom can deliver with a very clear focus, rolling out regional fibre for better connected local communities,” he said.
Now heading a team of 750, he sees no reason why that figure can’t climb again. And a highlighted task is preparing the buildings it operates from to make it right
“With our footprint and sales we have an opportunity to further grow. Having the right flexible environment of office space and break-out area is really important when it comes to being part of a company.
“We’re a big employer, and if you have the right passion in the business and the right products, having that many people in the region is a massive asset to us. They become the evangelists of what we do and what we are about.
“We are really investing in the offices. Post-Covid it is all about flexible working, and we’re working to make the environment the right one, with investment in both Carr Lane and Salvesen Way.”
Enthused by the “real success” he has seen with an intake of 10 apprentices last year, he wants to build on it in his role as a governor at Ron Dearing UTC, while also pushing further with community and social responsibility themes.
“KCom is a local brand people see all the time - and be part of - seeing us being able to give something back is important, as not everyone is doing that,” he said.
Underlining existing programmes, from two-day volunteering passes for staff, to kits for kids when Hull City score, there will be a more considered approach too, with social access packages for the unconnected, schoolchildren and further work with the NHS to make video technology in consultations an option - improving the gateway to health.
He endorses the efforts to make Hull a co-working capital too - a campaign launched recently by MP Emma Hardy and the wider business community - while enjoying finding a place as a Londonerm, who completed his education in Hertfordshire, that he may not have were it not for the bold moves prior.
“As a city Hull is totally misunderstood and what we want to do is bring it back on the map. Topping the UK as one of the most connected cities always does that, and we’re massively proud of that. My family comes up often, and they really enjoy it. The investment the city has made is brilliant. There is a role we play, and have played - the foresight of putting fibre network out before everyone embraced it.
“It is a great platform, a great asset for the people of the area, and it should be attracting more people now.
“A lot of the investment that has been made in Hull in the C4DI area supports coworking, and we’re really proud to have been part of it, to help develop that, and the more office space we have to use, and have the ability to support it, then that’s great.”
Finally, reflecting on his appointment from within, Mr Shaw said: “Dale saw us through the sale of the national business and foundation of where we are. I’m really pleased to take over and drive the business forward.
“It was a challenging time, from the acquisition to selling part of the business and establishing the structure, which we worked on as part of the executive.
“Now it is about taking the business forward and I’m really excited about that.”
