Equiinet's Management Team

Keith was managing director and co-founder of i²it: a software development company that specialises in distributed computing and communications technologies.

Formerly Equiinet's Research Director and Special Projects Director, Keith's primary focus these days is undertaking the duties of Managing Director and heading Equiinet's push into new markets.

Following roles with Racal as Project Leader and Principal Engineer at Master Systems, Jon was invited by Bob Jones to join Mayze Systems as Software Manager, where he was responsible for the day-to-day running of the software department and for the philosophy behind the modem product range. He introduced the concept of range-wide reusable software, which dramatically reduced the time to market of new products. When Mayze was acquired by Dowty in 1989, Summers re-joined Dowty Information Systems as Development Manager, where he was responsible for the whole development cycle.

In 1992, Summers was one of the co-founders of Sonix Communications, funded with £2.1M backing from Schroder Ventures and Greylock Management. In the role of Technical Director, he was responsible for the whole design and development operation. By 1995, Sonix had achieved UK market leadership for ISDN internetworking equipment with a 46% market share. In May 1995, Sonix was sold to 3Com for $70M. The products and the business have now been fully merged into the 3Com organisation. In the period before leaving 3Com, Summers was responsible for 45 engineering staff based in six locations around the world.

Jon lead the software and hardware teams that developed NetPilot, CachePilot and SecurePilot for Equiinet's SME and Education markets.

Jon has a BSc in Electronic Computer Systems from the University of Salford.

John Butler Commercial Manager John has a wealth of commercial, financial, managerial and IT knowledge gained from his long time involvement with Mayze, Sonix and Equiinet.

Initially, John worked as a computer consultant designing and implementing networks for start-up companies. It involved computer programming and was very hands-on. He helped numerous young companies by ensuring their IT infrastructure kept pace with the growing demands placed upon it.

He joined Bob Jones at Mayze and switched from systems architecture to running the systems he had installed. His role in administration grew with his involvement in Sonix as the company expanded exponentially, and by year two, John was managing the finances of a £16m turnover business.

His combined role in Equiinet is in finance, operations and administration. Essentially behind-the-scenes, John ensures the organisation continues to run smoothly whatever it takes.

This is the third time John has worked with Bob Jones as part of the core management team, bringing a stabilising influence to an entrepreneurial organisation.

Prior to joining Equiinet, Maggie worked for sixteen years for Emerson Liebert, the American UPS (Uninterrupted Power Supply) manufacturers with UK headquarters in Swindon. She worked her way up from Sales Administration, through the Commercial Department and on to Shipping Manager.

With eighteen years IT experience, he has a good breadth of knowledge of a wide range of platforms and all major applications. This is invaluable in supporting NetPilot and CachePilot in the field.

Prior to working for Equiinet, Mike supported Lotus notes on BT servers with mission-critical systems and a major contract for Lloyds Bank. He also worked in academia for BBSRC.