Meet The Team…..
Stour’s team brings deep telecom expertise, combining industry experience with an agile approach to delivering reliable and innovative solutions.
Leo Bartle
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Leo acquired Stour in 2012 and has led its transformation into a trusted telecoms provider with customers including Google, Salesforce, and Twilio. He is also the co-founder of Devyce, a B2B SaaS company backed by Y Combinator, and YourBusinessNumber. With a background in finance, he began his career at Goldman Sachs before moving into entrepreneurship, focusing on telecoms and SaaS innovation.
Robert Jones
Chief Commercial Officer
Robert leads Stour’s commercial strategy, driving growth and innovation. With over ten years in the messaging industry, he has extensive experience in business development, partnerships, and revenue generation. Previously, he was Head of Messaging at BT, responsible for Wholesale and Enterprise Messaging. His career also includes senior roles at EE, where he managed key partnerships and delivered strong growth in messaging and charge-to-mobile solutions.
Steve Hobbs
Founder and Chief Information Officer
Steve co-founded Stour and has over 14 years of director-level experience in telecoms. As the first CTO of Cable & Wireless Global Mobile, he played a key role in driving a $12.2 billion valuation increase. He holds multiple patents in small-cell design and intelligent network routing and has co-authored research on cellular and wireless systems. Beyond Stour, he advises global telecoms operators on technology, development, and strategy, leveraging his expertise to drive innovation and network optimisation.
Ioan Bojita
Network Operations Manager
Ioan oversees Stour’s network operations, ensuring seamless service delivery and optimising internal processes. He has over eight years of experience as a voice engineer at Vodafone and Three, complemented by a BA in Networking from the Polytechnic University of Timisoara. Ioan holds certifications from Ericsson, Alcatel, Cisco, and ITIL, equipping him with expertise in both network infrastructure and project management.
Mihai Radulescu
Network Operations Lead
Mihai is responsible for daily network operations, escalations, and implementation projects. He joined Stour in 2017, bringing extensive telecoms experience. Mihai holds an MA in Advanced Signal Processing from the Polytechnic University of Bucharest and plays a key role in maintaining service reliability and developing network solutions.
Catalin Pirnog
Network Operations Engineer
Catalin joined Stour in 2019 and manages daily operations and billing. Previously, he worked in Relationship Management at Raiffeisen Bank and other leading Romanian financial institutions. His finance background ensures strong operational efficiency and financial oversight at Stour.
Claire Jacques
Operations Lead
Claire brings over 15 years of experience in telecoms operations, partner enablement, and systems improvement across leading organisations including BT, EE, and Virgin Media. With a strong background in process design, service delivery, and cross-functional coordination, she plays a key role in ensuring operational excellence at Stour.
Ian MacIver
Founder
Ian co-founded Stour with Steve Hobbs, growing it into a fully operational Mobile Network Operator. With over 20 years in telecoms, he has worked on major projects for BT, Cable & Wireless, and Airwave. Now retired from active management, he remains a Non-Executive Director, advising on strategy and growth.
David Clark
Advisor
David advises Stour on new business and product development. Platform Partner at Tera VC, he brings experience from the private and public sector including commercial and strategy roles at the Cabinet Office and BT. At BT, he launched new businesses in A2P SMS/RCS and drove product innovation in BT’s Data and AI division. He holds an MEng from Cambridge and is based in Tallinn, Estonia.
Sven Grube
Advisor
Sven advises Stour on international expansion and business development. Currently Chief Revenue Officer at Noumena Digital AG, he previously led international business development for Twilio. His career spans senior roles at Upptalk, Amazon, and Telefónica. Sven holds an MBA from EDHEC Business School and is based in Munich, Germany.
Nicholas Browne
Investor
Nick has been an investor in Stour since 2012 and co-founded Devyce, a B2B SaaS company backed by Y Combinator, Garage Capital, and FoundersX Ventures. From 2017 to 2020, he played a key role in Stour’s business development, contributing to its growth and market positioning.