Sometimes we forget the humans behind the tech in our ever busy world. DSF is fortunate enough to know some incredible tech leaders across the world and has the privilege of hearing them present at our events. That being said, our Speaker Spotlight sets the stage to get to know our speakers on a more personal level and connect them with our growing community. Read the mini interview below!
A bit about Peter:
Peter’s career now spans 65 years with experience as a technician, engineer, manager, leader, consultant, entrepreneur, and academic. His consistent focus on problem-solving and innovation has driven positive change in every sector of employment. This saw many symbiotic relationships across international governments, companies, and academia. Peter’s many teams spanned 5 to 2,500 people and budgets exceeding €1Bn. Throughout, international relationships have been maintained as an advisor and opportunistic professor! Mid-career, Peter transitioned from specialist to generalist – motivated by a need to understand the broader complexities of an interconnected future. Recently, this has been further augmented by study periods supported by MIT public lectures et al.
How did you start out in your tech career?
My first step into electronics was at the age of 11 when I was ill and unable to venture outside. My early experiments needed funding, so I had a paper round from the age of 12 to purchase of tools and WWII surplus radio equipment. At the age of 13 I worked in a radio and tv repair shop on saturdays after I finished my paper round. By the age of 15 I had a ham radio licence and was communicating with people all over the planet on 20m. After leaving school at 15 I had 1 year at a technical college studying engineering basics, after wich I joined the Post Office and worked as an apprentice in the Telephone Nertwork. After 5 years of day release and night school I ‘stumbled’ into an Electrical Engineeing Degree Course at Trent Polytechnic for a further 5 years and graduated with a 1st BSc Hons in 1973 at the age of 25, and immediately joined BTLabs @ Martlesham as a research engineer.
What are the signs of success in your field?
I had some brilliant mentors from the off, and it seemed my unusual ability to grasp the basics, and then solve associated problems encouraged their further attention in helping me along. A natural inventiveness and creativity emmerged and I started winning prizes and awards immediately I graduated. On that day I also received the IEE Student prize for the year. In the years that followed, I received many industrial and academic awards for exceptional creativity, leadership, and international successes including two Queens Awards , The Prince Philip Medal, IEE Millenium Medal, James Klerk Maxwell Medal, et al and an OBE.
What is the best and worst thing about your job role?
Whilst I enjoyed my own successes as an individual, I derived far more pleasure seeing the people I employred and the teams I created win world leading reults and recognition. The most difficult and frustrating aspects were the political, commercial, market, and other constraints, along with the lengthy time to invoke the positive change offered by new technologies concepts and ideas.
What can you advise someone just starting out to be successful?
First of all develop a passion for success, no matter the type of problem or form of challenge: focus your energies on ‘real success’.
Invoke changes that advantage you, your customers, clients, people, organisation and company. The enablers here are education, mentorship, a deep understanding of the ‘how and why’, and unbounded enthusiasm for understanding, and commitmant (often, courage) to succeed!
How do you switch off?
I have pass times that see me focused on/doing things orthogonal to work. Eg I go cycling, fly fishing, and I have a large garden and a large family 🙂
What advice would you give your younger self?
Be born into a different village and go to a better school, get a good education earlier – and work harder!
What is next for you?
So after 38 years in The Post Office/BT, 20 Years in my own company, and 6 years as University Professor – I find I have been working for 65 years full time, and in my 80th year I still feel 22 mentlally, with the curiosity and sense of wonderment of a child. As I type this I am about to attend lecture 18 of 25 on quantum mechanics @ MIT Boston USA online.
“I never experienced the boredom, tedium, disappontment of ‘work’, I sought, and still, seek the enjoyment of dicovery and understanding”
If you could do anything now, career-wise or personally what would you do? Why?
I would do it all again, starting today, with all my accumulated knowledge intact. Why? Because it is exciting and very rewarding to be engaged in technology, see people succeed, and organisations grow. Invoking positive change is a great driver!
What are your top 5 predictions in tech for the next 5 years?
- AI and Robotics will create a new symbiotic revolution ebracing human kind and transforming societies
- All sectors, and especially healthcare and pharmaceuticals will be transformed by AI
- The shortage of people available to work will be amplified by death rates overtaking birth rates – and that gap will be filled by robots throughout the developed world
- Quantum computing and AI may just open the door to more dimensions in space-time and solve the problem of quantum entanglement
- Direct Machine – Human Brain Communication might just be completing the trial phase
Thank you to all our wonderful speakers for taking part in our Speaker Spotlight!
Want to become a DSF Speaker? Apply here!