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Keri Gilder

Chief Executive Officer

Keri Gilder is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Colt, and is responsible for executing our strategy which centres around putting the power of the digital universe in the hands of its customers – wherever, whenever and however they need.

Keri Gilder is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Colt.

Appointed to the role in May 2020, Keri is responsible for executing Colt’s strategy which centres around transforming the way the world works through the power of connectivity.

Before becoming CEO, Keri was Colt’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), leading global teams across sales, presales and marketing, as well as working closely with the wider organisation to ensure Colt delivered for its customers.

Before joining Colt, Keri held several leadership roles at Ciena but was most recently its Vice President and General Manager EMEA, responsible for guiding Ciena’s EMEA service provider and enterprise customers, as well as partners.

Keri is passionate about promoting Inclusion and Diversity to ensure Colt is a business where everyone feels they can bring their true selves to work. In addition, Keri brings this passion to the wider industry as the Chair of the TM Forum’s Diversity & Inclusion Council and President of the Global Telecom Women's Network.

Prior to Ciena, Keri worked in multiple roles for Lucent Technologies, and she has also worked for Hughes Aircraft as a Network Engineer.

Keri has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Management Information Systems (MIS) from New Mexico State University.

Keri lives in London with her husband and two children and is based at Colt’s head office in London.

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Buddy Bayer

Chief Operating Officer

In his role at Colt, Buddy is responsible for leading Colt's global operations and engineering functions. Buddy will be responsible for further developing Colt's infrastructure and network strategy, while continuing to drive an exceptional customer experience.

Ron “Buddy” Bayer is chief operating officer for Colt. Bayer is responsible for leading Colt’s global operations and engineering functions. Buddy will be responsible for further developing Colt’s infrastructure and network strategy, while continuing to drive an exceptional customer experience.

Buddy is an executive leader with broad experience in creating and leading highly effective and efficient organisations. His successful career path to date has provided the opportunity for him to set the vision, lead and develop multiple facets of engineering, operations, sales and more importantly the development of people. Buddy is recognised as an impactful leader with high character values, creative insight, and a passion for maximising the performance of the team.

Prior to joining Colt, Buddy was at Windstream where he was, most recently, President for Enterprise & Wholesale. Buddy has held several senior roles in Windstream, Century Link, Qwest and OnFiber and has a wealth of experience in engineering, operations, sales and product, as well as in driving innovative network solutions.

Buddy holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Oklahoma State University. He holds an advisory board position on the Oklahoma State University’s Zink Center for Innovation.

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Annette Murphy

Chief Commercial Officer

Annette is responsible for managing all Colt’s go to market activities to drive profitable revenue growth and a strong market presence, leading global teams across sales, marketing, customer success, product, commercial, and strategic partnerships.

Annette Murphy is Chief Commercial Officer at Colt, reporting directly to Colt’s Chief Executive Officer, Keri Gilder.

In this role, Annette is responsible for managing all Colt’s go to market activities to drive profitable revenue growth and a strong market presence, leading global teams across sales, marketing, customer success, product, commercial, and strategic partnerships. She also works closely with the wider organisation to ensure Colt delivers on its overall purpose and vision.

Annette’s extensive B2B technology and telecoms leadership experience includes global business strategy, change management, and building high-performance teams, to deliver significant growth and transform business outcomes.

Before joining Colt, Annette was Regional President EMEA and APAC at Lumen Technologies. Prior to Lumen, she held several leadership roles at Zayo and various senior-level positions at Geo Networks and BT.

Annette has a bachelor’s degree in commerce including strategic management and marketing from University College Cork, Ireland, and a Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) qualification in management accounting.

Annette lives in London with her husband and three children and is based at Colt’s head office in London.

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Dan Harris

Chief Financial Officer

Dan Harris is Chief Financial Officer for Colt Technology Services, leading the delivery of Colt's global financial metrics and the integration of Lumen EMEA while driving Colt's growth ambitions.

Dan Harris is Chief Financial Officer for Colt Technology Services, leading the delivery of Colt’s global financial metrics and the integration of Lumen EMEA while driving Colt’s growth ambitions.

An experienced finance leader and qualified accountant, Dan has a wealth of experience across diverse finance and commercial roles. Prior to joining Colt, Dan held executive leadership roles at Adecco, most recently as Global Senior Vice President for Reporting, Planning and Business Intelligence and previously as Adecco’s Chief Financial Officer for the UK and Ireland business.

Driven by a passion for innovation, change and strategy, Dan focuses on leveraging his financial and commercial expertise to drive growth, efficiency, and value.

Dan has previously held the position of EMEA CFO for Ciena Inc and spent a number of years at BT plc in a range of leadership roles including Group Finance Operations Director, SME Finance Director  and Head of finance integration.

Dan lives in Zurich, Switzerland with his wife and four children.

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Catherine Leaver

Catherine Leaver

Chief People Officer

Catherine is highly experienced in working across international workforces and in building strong teams, delivering change & driving results, whilst making sure the wellbeing of the organisation remains a priority.

Catherine Leaver joined Colt as Chief People Officer in 2022, and also chairs the company’s Inclusion and Diversity Council.

A seasoned telecoms industry executive, Catherine is highly experienced in working across international workforces and in building strong teams, delivering change and driving results, whilst making sure the wellbeing of the organisation remains a top priority. She joined Colt from Telefónica Group, where she was HR Director and a member of the Executive Team at Telefónica UK - O2.

Based at Colt’s London headquarters, Catherine reports to Colt’s CEO Keri Gilder and works closely with the other members of the company’s Executive Leadership Team.

Outside of the office, Catherine is passionate about nature and the natural world. She is a big believer in rewilding and nature restoration and the impact that large-scale, long-term ecosystem restoration projects can have on how people live alongside the natural environment.

Catherine holds a Master’s Degree in Business and HR from Aston Business School.

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Ashish Surti

Chief Digital & Information Officer

Ash is responsible for Colt's overall technology and security strategy and execution, ensuring Colt streamlines its systems & processes while industrialising the organisation's digital ambitions, enhancing security & improving data quality.

Ashish Surti is Colt’s Chief Digital & Information Officer, reporting to Chief Executive Officer, Keri Gilder.

He is responsible for Colt’s overall technology and security strategy and execution; ensuring Colt streamlines its systems and processes while industrialising the organisation's digital ambitions, enhancing security and improving its data quality across the business.

Ashish joined Colt as its Chief Security Officer in July 2017.

Ashish is a highly respected security expert with over 20 years’ experience in the field, primarily in the financial sector. Before joining Colt, he served as TSB Bank’s first CISO.

He has also held senior positions at Aviva and Direct Line Group, where he managed award-winning security teams.

Ashish is also the Vice Chair of the Member Advisory Committee (MAC) of the International Information Integrity Institute (i-4), a world-leading global strategy forum for CISOs and senior information security professionals from global corporations.

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Caroline Griffin Pain

Chief Legal Officer

Caroline is General Counsel at Colt, with a global responsibility for the Legal and Regulatory teams, the Company Secretariat and the Country Manager organisation. Caroline is also responsible for Colt's ESG strategy, including sustainability, diversity and inclusion.

Caroline Griffin Pain is Chief Legal Officer, at Colt and reports directly to Colt’s CEO Keri Gilder.

As General Counsel, Caroline holds global responsibility for the Legal and Regulatory teams, the Company Secretariat and the Country Manager organisation.

Caroline is also responsible for Colt’s ESG strategy, including sustainability and diversity & inclusion. Dedicated to building a more diverse workplace, Caroline is a mentor and Diversity sponsor, championing inclusivity.

She is also Chairman of the Corporate Compliance Committee, dealing with Whistleblowing and Ethics and is responsible for implementing and monitoring Colt’s anti-bribery programme. Caroline oversees corporate governance at Colt and acts as Secretary to the Board, Audit Committee and Remuneration Committee.

Caroline previously held senior roles at the Reuters joint venture, Radianz, and Rea Brothers Group plc. She qualified as a solicitor in 1990.

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Our board of directors

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Michael Wilens

Chairman

Michael was appointed to the Board on 1 January, 2012 and as Chairman on 21 March, 2018.

Michael was appointed to the Board on 1 January 2012 and as Chairman on 21 March 2018.

He is a board member of Fidelity Investments and has served as President of both Fidelity’s Asset Management division and Fidelity’s Enterprise Technology and Operations division.

He was previously CEO of Thomson Reuters North American Legal division (Westlaw), CTO at Thomson Reuters, also served as CEO of Legion, a division of Group Lagardere, and CEO/co-founder of several software and information company start-ups.

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Keri Gilder

Executive Director

Keri is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Colt, and was appointed to the role in May 2020.

Keri Gilder is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Colt.

Appointed to the role in May 2020, Keri is responsible for executing Colt’s strategy which centres around transforming the way the world works through the power of connectivity.

Before becoming CEO, Keri was Colt’s Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), leading global teams across sales, presales and marketing, as well as working closely with the wider organisation to ensure Colt delivered for its customers.

Before joining Colt, Keri held several leadership roles at Ciena but was most recently its Vice President and General Manager EMEA, responsible for guiding Ciena’s EMEA service provider and enterprise customers, as well as partners.

Keri is passionate about promoting Inclusion and Diversity to ensure Colt is a business where everyone feels they can bring their true selves to work. In addition, Keri brings this passion to the wider industry as the Chair of the TM Forum’s Diversity & Inclusion Council and President of the Global Telecom Women's Network.

Prior to Ciena, Keri worked in multiple roles for Lucent Technologies, and she has also worked for Hughes Aircraft as a Network Engineer.

Keri has a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Management Information Systems (MIS) from New Mexico State University.

Keri lives in London with her husband and two children and is based at Colt’s head office in London.

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Caroline Griffin Pain

Secretary to the Board

Caroline is General Counsel at Colt, with global responsibility for the Legal and Regulatory teams.

Caroline Griffin Pain is Chief Legal Officer, at Colt and reports directly to Colt’s CEO Keri Gilder.

As General Counsel, Caroline holds global responsibility for the Legal and Regulatory teams, the Company Secretariat and the Country Manager organisation.

Caroline is also responsible for Colt’s ESG strategy, including sustainability and diversity & inclusion. Dedicated to building a more diverse workplace, Caroline is a mentor and Diversity sponsor, championing inclusivity.

She is also Chairman of the Corporate Compliance Committee, dealing with Whistleblowing and Ethics and is responsible for implementing and monitoring Colt’s anti-bribery programme. Caroline oversees corporate governance at Colt and acts as Secretary to the Board, Audit Committee and Remuneration Committee.

Caroline previously held senior roles at the Reuters joint venture, Radianz, and Rea Brothers Group plc. She qualified as a solicitor in 1990.

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Jennifer Uhrig

Non Executive Director

Jennifer was appointed to the Board on 1 January, 2015.

Jennifer was appointed to the Board on 1 January 2015

She is the Managing Partner at Fine Structure Ventures, an F-Prime Capital Fund, and sits on the boards of portfolio companies, Hoxton Farms, Finwave Semiconductor, Pallidus Inc., and Feon Energy. She also represents Fidelity on the Board of Geode Capital Management.

Jennifer started at Fidelity in 1987 and spent over 20 years in the Equity Growth Group managing Equity Funds, including Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock Fund, Fidelity Advisor Equity Growth Fund, Fidelity VIP Growth Fund, and Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard and an MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.

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Suzanne

Suzanne Streeter

Non Executive Director

Suzanne was appointed to the Board on 1 January, 2024.

Suzanne was appointed to the Board on 1 January 2024

She joined Fidelity in 2023 as the CIO of Devonshire Investments. Suzanne has extensive experience in private equity, investment banking, and asset management having worked for Partners Capital, Yale Investments Office, Morgan Stanley, and Berkshire Capital, respectively.

Suzanne holds a BA from the College of the Holy Cross and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. She is a member of the Board of Trustees at the College of the Holy Cross.

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Steve Neff

Non Executive Director

Steve was appointed to the Board on 1 January, 2024.

Steve was appointed to the Board on 1 January 2024

He retired as Head of Asset Management for Fidelity Investments in 2020 and has held senior technology roles at Fidelity. Before joining Fidelity, Steve worked at Salomon Brothers. He began his career with IBM Corporation in 1974.

Since retiring, Steve has served on several Fidelity boards as an independent director and joined Fidelity’s main board, FMR LLC, as Director and Audit Committee member.

Steve holds a Bachelor in Maths from Rutgers University.

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John Avery

John Avery

Non Executive Director

John was appointed to the Board on 1 January, 2024.

John was appointed to the Board on 1 January 2024.

He is the President of Crosby Advisors and the senior investment leader of The Crosby Company of New Hampshire, Beacon Trust Company, and Fidelity Foundations. He recently led the Advanced Data Analytics team in Fidelity's Asset Management division, driving AI and big data initiatives.

John managed various Equity and Balanced Funds as an Equity Portfolio manager.

John holds a BA from Harvard University and an MBA from Wharton.

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Tim Cohen

Non Executive Director

Tim was appointed to the Board on 28 February, 2025.

Tim was appointed to the Board on 28 February 2025.

He is the co-head of Fidelity Investments’ Equity division, overseeing portfolio managers, research analysts, and trading teams. Previously, Tim served as head of Fidelity Equity’s Global Equity Research and as chief investment officer for Select Funds. He also held leadership roles in international and emerging markets equity funds and the High Income division. Before that, he managed various diversified and sector-specific equity portfolios. He joined Fidelity as a research analyst in 1996.

He serves as a Governing Trustee for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and advises the University of Vermont’s School of Business Administration.

Tim holds a B.S. in business administration from the University of Vermont and an MBA from Wharton.

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Audit committee

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Jennifer Uhrig

Member of the Audit Committee

Jenifer was appointed to the board on the 1st of January 2015

She is the Managing Partner at Fine Structure Ventures, an F-Prime Capital Fund, and sits on the boards of portfolio companies, Hoxton Farms, Finwave Semiconductor, Pallidus Inc., and Feon Energy. She also represents Fidelity on the Board of Geode Capital Management.

Jennifer started at Fidelity in 1987 and spent over 20 years in the Equity Growth Group managing Equity Funds, including Fidelity Mid-Cap Stock Fund, Fidelity Advisor Equity Growth Fund, Fidelity VIP Growth Fund, and Fidelity Blue Chip Growth Fund.

Jennifer holds a Bachelor of Arts from Harvard and an MBA from Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business.

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John Avery

John Avery

Non Executive Director

John was appointed to the Board on 1 January, 2024.

He is the President of Crosby Advisors and the senior investment leader of The Crosby Company of New Hampshire, Beacon Trust Company, and Fidelity Foundations. He recently led the Advanced Data Analytics team in Fidelity's Asset Management division, driving AI and big data initiatives.

John managed various Equity and Balanced Funds as an Equity Portfolio manager.

John holds a BA from Harvard University and an MBA from Wharton.

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Suzanne

Suzanne Streeter

Member of the Audit Committee

Suzanne was appointed to the Board on 1 January 2024

She joined Fidelity in 2023 as the CIO of Devonshire Investments. Suzanne has extensive experience in private equity, investment banking, and asset management having worked for Partners Capital, Yale Investments Office, Morgan Stanley, and Berkshire Capital, respectively.

Suzanne holds a BA from the College of the Holy Cross and an MBA from the Yale School of Management. She is a member of the Board of Trustees at the College of the Holy Cross.

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Brendan Coughlin

Member of the Audit Committee

Brendan was appointed Member of the Audit Committee on 1 January 2024.

He joined Devonshire Investors since 2007 and serves as a board member of businesses across various sectors. Prior to Fidelity, Brendan managed turnarounds for companies in the White Mountains Insurance Group portfolio.

Brendan holds a bachelor’s degree from Wesleyan University, an MBA from Yale, and is a CFA.

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Remuneration committee

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Pat Murphy

Member of the Remuneration Committee

Pat was appointed Member of the Remuneration Committee on 1 October 2015.

She has been the Senior Vice President in charge of Human Resources at Devonshire Investors since 2011. Prior to this she worked at Devonshire on human resources issues across several companies in the domestic portfolio.

Pat began her Fidelity career in 1998 as Senior Vice President of Human Resources of the Seaport Hotel in Boston. Prior to Fidelity, Pat worked for many years with Delaware North Companies where she held assignments in Human Resources.

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Steve Neff

Member of the Remuneration Committee

Steve was appointed to the Board on 1 January 2024

He retired as Head of Asset Management for Fidelity Investments in 2020 and has held senior technology roles at Fidelity. Before joining Fidelity, Steve worked at Salomon Brothers. He began his career with IBM Corporation in 1974.

Since retiring, Steve has served on several Fidelity boards as an independent director and joined Fidelity’s main board, FMR LLC, as Director and Audit Committee member.

Steve holds a Bachelor in Maths from Rutgers University

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Jason Hamilton

Member of the Remuneration Committee

Jason was appointed Member of the Remuneration Committee on 1 July 2023.

He has been the Head of Human Resources for Fidelity Enterprise Services and Devonshire Investors since 2022. Prior to this, Jason was Head of Fidelity Asset Management Human Resources.

Jason began his Fidelity career in 1998, holding various roles within Fidelity Investments Institutional Services Company, Inc., Fidelity Financial Advisor Solutions, Enterprise Technology, Fidelity Employer Services Company, and Workplace Investing.

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