Tony Snaith
CEO
Tony Snaith is the CEO of Communicate, one of the industry’s leading internet service and managed security providers. From apprentice to CEO, Tony has developed his skills through several roles within the industry over a 35-year career.
Tony began as an electrical apprentice at British Steel’s research labs where his interest in IT sparked and still continues today. Climbing the ladder, Tony headed to London to pursue a career as a network engineer in a revolutionary industry that would see the start of network data cabling, rolling out the first network connections for banks across the country.
Tony said: “In those days there was no internet or Wi-Fi and businesses connected their individual sites to each other on their own dedicated cable network. There were multiple different systems including coax and twisted pairs which over the years developed into fibre optic and Cat6 cabling.”
From a young age Tony had the ambition to start his own business and the opportunity finally arose when he set up his first business in 2003. He then sold the business four years later and planned out his next venture that would be Communicate, which has now seen a successful 10 years in business and has been one of the FT 1000 fastest growing companies in Europe for four consecutive years.
Tony is an advocate for apprenticeship schemes and is passionate about providing opportunities within the industry having started as an apprentice himself.
Konrad Rutkowski
CFO
Communicate’s chief financial officer Konrad Rutkowski heads up the finance function of the group and is responsible for financial management, HR and operations of the firm.
Keen to train on the job, Konrad started his accountancy career following his A-Levels and qualified as an accountant at just 21, where he worked with clients across a wide range of sectors and industries. Seven years later, Konrad moved into corporate finance for ten years, dealing with company acquisitions, disposals, management buy-outs and helping companies raise capital and restructure.
A specialist in his field, Konrad progressed into a finance director role at a private equity backed company. Noticing Communicate’s fast growth and potential, Konrad wanted to be a part of their story and joined in 2016.
Konrad has played an important role in Communicate’s growth strategy and has contributed significantly in acquisition opportunities to further the firm’s nationwide presence.
David Johnson
Cyber Director
David Johnson heads up the Cyber Security team in Leeds managing the Security Operations Centre (SOC) in central Leeds advising a range of local, national and global clients, including banks, critical infrastructure, building societies, FT 100 companies and retailers.
David has had a long interest in computing and cyber security and decided to explore this whilst studying IT and micro-electrical engineering in college. His career in the industry then began when he started his own internet advertising agency in the early 2000s.
Joining the industry in 2009, David has since become an expert in his field. As an experienced cyber security consultant, ISO 27001 lead auditor, Cyber Essentials auditor and a certified GDPR practitioner, he has established a vast client base some of which have been with him for over 10 years.
Intrigued by Communicate’s unique approach in the way they service their clients, David was keen to get on board and has since played an important role in shaping Communicate’s cyber security services for the last three years.
David strives to simplify the technical terms for clients providing them with a service they can trust and understand, he has been instrumental in introducing new products and services to make the business an industry leader.
Chris Mullen
CTO
Chris Mullen is the chief technology officer at Communicate and largely focuses on technical decisions and opportunities to take the business forward. With 18 years of industry experience, Chris is a dedicated expert in both software and hardware.
Chris’ passion for technology, and what it can achieve, started at a young age and led him to study advanced IT at A Level. Chris went on to start his career within the industry as soon as he left college to gain first-hand experience. He has had a multifunctional career within the sector and has held various positions from IT engineer, to service desk manager.
Joining the company from its inception over 10 years ago, Chris has been a key component in the expansion of Communicate’s product offering. Introducing new technologies to enhance the business, Chris has been at the forefront of establishing Communicate’s own full-fibre network which spans the whole of the UK.
Mark Styles
Operations Director
With over 30 years in the industry, operations director Mark Styles, manages the south east team who provide full service support to Discovery Park, local business parks and organisations across the UK.
With an interest in computers at an early age, Mark began his career as a trainee computer operator working on IBM Mainframes, after enjoying computing at school and home. Since, Mark has worked for numerous leading companies within the industry where he has progressed from trainee, to operations team leader managing data centres, into technical support and a networking specialist, to now operations director.
Joining Communicate in 2013, Mark was brought on board to assist Communicate in taking over the network infrastructure and IT services of the former Pfizer site, Discovery Park. Mark put together a fully operational team based onsite and implemented a long-term infrastructure plan, that has since become a successful feat for the Communicate portfolio.
In his spare time, Mark spends as much time as possible out at sea and has done since a young age. You’ll mostly find him fishing, wake boarding, kite surfing and he is now into the latest craze on the water, wing foiling. It is this passion that has led Mark to support the Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
