Thecla Mbongue, Senior Analyst MEA, ITM
Thecla is a Senior Analyst within Informa Telecoms & Media’s Industry Research division and is a key contributor to Informa’s World Cellular Information Service.
In her role, Thecla is responsible for researching the telecoms industry in sub-Saharan Africa. Thecla also manages World cellular Data Metrics, in which Informa tracks mobile data usage and up-take, including SMS and MMS traffic volumes, mobile data subscriber information, MMSC contract awards, mobile data deployments and non-voice revenues. She is a key contributor to many of Informa’s reports such as the CDMA-450, HSPA or Multiple-SIM insights.
A native French speaker, Thecla is a regular speaker and moderator at international conferences in Africa and is often quoted in the regional and global business press.
Russell Southwood, Chief Executive, Balancing Act
Russell Southwood is the Chief Executive, Balancing Act, a consultancy and online publishing company specialising in telecoms, Internet and broadcasting in Africa. His consultancy work has included: an assessment of two different sectors in the TV market in Africa; an assessment of the transition to digital broadcasting in over 20 African countries; an appraisal of an investment in a wireless broadband operator; and a study on Open Access models. He is also the co-author of Balancing Act’s African Broadcast and Film Markets and African Satellite Markets.
Abby Wakama, Publisher & Executive Editor, ITNewsAfrica.com
Abby Wakama is the Publisher and Executive Editor of ITNewsAfrica.com, an online news service that provides IT and Telecoms information to senior executives and IT professionals in the ICT sector. He consults regularly with corporations in the ICT sector on digital strategy and doing business in Africa. He has been a guest expert on several radio and TV shows (CNBC Africa, SABC International) focusing on ICT.
Prior to his current position, he was Digital Project Manager at STONEWALL Digital, a digital marketing agency and managed several projects for various South African listed entities including Investec, MTN Group, Primedia and Adcock Ingram. He was also Web Director of African News Dimension, a digital news agency based in Johannesburg.
Ralph Simon : Founder & Chairman Emeritus – Mobile Entertainment Forum America (MEF); CEO & Founder – Mobilium Global
Ralph Simon is one of the founders of the modern global mobile entertainment and content industry. Over the past 15 years he has been a prominent African and international mobile visionary, trailblazer and innovator, helping grow the world-wide mobile/wireless content and entertainment industries, and playing a central role in its impact and presence in Africa.
He is Founder & Chairman Emeritus of the influential Mobile Entertainment Forum – Americas (MEF), the respected global trade group, he is at the forefront of commercial innovation that boosts global industry standards and telco content data, access, and Quality User Experiences (QUE).
Simon was named as one of world’s Top 50 Executives in Mobile Entertainment, by Mobile Entertainment Magazine in 2005, 2006, 2008 and 2010. He received their Special Award for Outstanding Contribution To the Global Mobile Entertainment industry in 2007.
