Candidate Statement
Simon Lockhart – Bogons Ltd
I currently represent the LINX member Bogons of which I am one of the founders and company directors. Bogons is an ISP with a focus both on media delivery and rural Broadband access. I also provide technical consultancy services to several AltNets within the UK, one of which I have recently assisted in joining LINX.
I have previously represented two other LINX members – Glide (a managed services provider across multiple sectors including Student Accommodation, Business Parks, and Residential Build-to-Rent) and the BBC in their Internet Services team. Through these relationships, I can bring to the LINX Board the practical experience of the Internet and interconnectivity needs of both access and content providers in the small to medium business space. Although primarily a hands-on technical person, I have a good exposure to the financial side of running a business of comparable size to LINX.
I have been involved with LINX for nearly 25 years now, starting with BBC’s problematic (see my presentation at LINX 100) but eventually successful attempts to become a member – a process which resulted in a major change in LINX that allowed membership for all Internet providers whether access or content focused. I have previously served as a LINX Board member for just over 6 years between 2004 and 2010.
When faced with a decision to be made, I am very much a problem solver – a thinker and an analyser. I like to question the views of others, and understand not just their viewpoint, but also how they came to it. I like to look for alternative solutions to problems, and question whether they would be better than the traditional or default answer. I’m not easily persuaded to do things just because that’s how they’ve always been done, and I’m not afraid to be controversial with my views. However, I also fully understand the need for consensus once all options have been considered.
I am a regular attendee at many of the UK Internet industry events each year, where I am able to interact with representatives from across the industry – whether LINX members or not. One of my aims if I were successful in standing for the LINX Board is to be able to fairly represent not only my own views but those from the wider community when the Board is making strategic decisions about LINX’s future direction.
Every Board member should be able to represent the views and opinions of a subset of the extremely diverse LINX membership. It is only by having a diverse set of members’ views represented on the Board that decisions can be made that are fair to the majority of the membership – rather than being dominated by the largest or most vocal.
I strongly believe that LINX is the best overall IXP in the world – not necessarily in terms of member count or traffic levels, but specifically in terms of ethos, respect, credibility and trust. If I were to be elected onto the LINX Board, then I would work to ensure that these values are maintained, as they are what makes LINX what it is.
