The Scientific Committee

Peter Konings is Enterprise Networks and Managed Services for EMEA, LATAM and Canada at Verizon and brings with him more than 20 years of product managing IT and Telecom solutions for enterprise customers. In his current role he is responsible for managing the regional requirements for the Verizon global managed network services, enabling products for resellers in region and optimizing access solutions.   Since joining the company in 1998, he has headed up the Global Managed MPLS & Ethernet product teams, the managed services product team for Europe and the European & APAC Advanced Data team for Verizon.   Before this, he has worked as a product manager for data and internet services. Prior to this, Konings worked at Digital Equipment Corporation for the Belgium and Luxembourg region as a Product Manager for UNIX servers, messaging software and Year 2000.   Peter holds a master's degree in applied linguistics from the VUB- University in Brussels. He is based in Brussels.

Roy Chua is Founder and Principal at AvidThink, an independent research and advisory service formed in 2018 out of SDxCentral's research group. Prior to co-founding SDxCentral and running its research and product teams, Roy was a management consultant working with both Fortune 500 and startup technology companies on go-to-market and product consulting.  As an early proponent of the software-defined infrastructure movement, Roy is a frequent speaker at technology events in the telco and cloud space and a regular contributor to leading online publications. A graduate of UC Berkeley's electrical engineering and computer science program and MIT's Sloan School of Business, Roy has 20+ years of experience in telco and enterprise cloud computing, networking and security, including founding several Silicon Valley startups.

Professional Experience:
System as network Specialist for 10 years in Pirelli (1 year in Spain and 8 in Italy - Milan)
System and Network Specialist from 2 years in Interroll
Network Manager in Interroll since 3 years.

Janne Mikola now champions cybersecurity innovation as a Systems Engineer at Fortinet, guiding major Nordic and Baltic service providers in advancing their networking and security capabilities.  With a robust background in SD-WAN, SASE, and SD-Branch, combined with expertise in firewall strategies, penetration testing, and ethical hacking, Mikola is pivotal in developing and launching cutting-edge services for both consumer and business sectors. An advocate for the transformative potential of AI operations and Zero Trust Network Access, he plays a critical role in training service provider teams and showcasing Fortinet's solutions on the international stage.   Prior to working at Fortinet Mikola had a 10-year career at Telia, launching the first SD-WAN service by an European Service Provider in 2017 and continuing to expand Telia’s service portfolio with additional SD-WAN technologies and adding in features such as AI/ML.   Holding a Master of Science in Computer Science from Tampere University—where he first explored Software-Defined Networks—Mikola is also a sought-after guest lecturer at both Tampere University and the University of Turku, continuing to influence the evolution of modern networking technologies through his visionary approach to virtualization, automation, and Infrastructure-as-Code.

Within Orange Business Services, Franck is in charge of developing the portfolio of connectivity services to meet Orange Business Services customer needs. Since his appointment in 2013, he has developed an ambitious strategy around Hybrid Networks with Value Added Services, with strong evolution now towards SDWAN, Orchestration and Virtualization technologies.   With more than 30 years within the Orange Group (formerly France Telecom), Franck has extensive experience including 12 years in Mobile Business within Orange France. Franck has spent his all career facing business customers or managing strategic partnerships.   Outside his professional life Franck enjoys cultural activities such as Opera, especially Italian ones, and also loves the theatre. Sport also figures in his freetime, especially cycling, running, and skiing.

Chris has over 15 years of extensive experience in the Data Communication industry. He has worked as the Chief Marketing Officer in the SD-WAN field, R&D Manager, and System Architect, and led various teams to work closely for key customers and support global projects to offer innovation solutions.

Hector Avalos has over 25 years of experience in the computing, networking and telecommunications industries. He currently holds the position of VP EMEA Sales and Business Development at Versa Networks. His current activities are focused on “virtual CPE”, “Software-Defined WAN” and “Software-Defined Security” solutions for Service Providers and Enterprises.   Prior to Versa, Hector worked 4 years at Ericsson as “Head of technology, architectures, solutions and strategy”, and 9 years at Juniper Networks as “Technical Director”.   Hector possesses a BSc. in Computing Science from ‘UDLA’ Mexico.

Mr.Wim Henderickx is Director Network Consulting Engineering & PLM – Technology in the ION Division at Nokia, based in Belgium. Mr. Henderickx provides senior level consulting on advanced IP solutions for Service provider and Enterprise customers around: Cloud Networking (SDN/NFV), Triple Play, Mobile, IOT, etc.  He has over 20 years’ experience in the communications and networking industry, and is a regular speaker at technical conferences all over the world. He is active in a number of SDO’s like IETF, BBF, openStack, etc.   Mr. Henderickx holds a Bachelor’s degree in Industrial Engineering, Data Communications and a Masters degree in Economy and is a Bellabs Fellow.

Amir Zmora is CEO & Co-founder of flexiWAN, the world’s first Open Source SD-WAN & SASE.  Before starting flexiWAN, Amir was CEO & Co-founder of SwitchRTC, a Real-time, interactive WebRTC based video CDN and B2B/B2C collaboration solution acquired by YouNow. Among his previous positions, Amir was VP Products & Marketing for the Technology Business Unit of RADVISION, an Avaya company.

As Research Director for the Business Network and IT Services module at Current Analysis, Joel manages a global team of highly regarded industry analysts that provide competitive insights.   Joel has been with Current Analysis for fifteen years and has 20 years of experience in the high-tech industry.   Joel and team his cover global and European providers of enterprise voice and data network services, as well as the international wholesale carrier-to-carrier services market. Additionally, Joel covers global WAN solutions, including SD-WAN and virtual network functions, and wholesale carrier IP Exchange. Joel is a well known and highly regarded speaker at major conferences, and is read and regularly quoted by telecom industry media.   Prior to Current Analysis, Joel was an independent marketing and technical writer for several companies and prior to that worked for the Japanese Board of Education in Japan. Joel received his B.Sc. in Design & Technology from Loughborough University of Technology in England in 1992.   Coverage Areas Business: Network and IT Services. Wholesale Services

Dean Bubley is the Founder of Disruptive Analysis, an independent technology industry analyst and consulting firm. An analyst with over 20 years’ experience, he primarily specialises in wireless, mobile, and telecoms fields, with further expertise in certain aspects of the broader technology industry.  His present focus is on wireless technology, especially the evolution of mobile broadband, service provider business models, mobile device architecture & software, applications ecosystems and enterprise mobility. He provides clients with advice and analytical opinion on topics such as business models validation, technology innovation and go-to-market strategies, "addressable market sizing", planning and due diligence.