New appointments at Quartix

Ed Ralph PhD – chief operating officer

Quartix Ltd., one of the UK’s leading suppliers of vehicle tracking systems, software and services, is pleased to announce the appointment of two directors to its board: Ed Ralph is appointed as chief operating officer and Lynne Austin is appointed as director with responsibility for the company’s UK fleet operations. Both appointments are effective as of 1st February 2017, and background information on both of them is provided below.

Ed brings to Quartix extensive experience and a proven track record in technology management, digital marketing and eCommerce. From 2001 to 2015 he built and led the technology team at Abcam plc, having joined the company as the 7th employee and at a time when its revenues were just £200k. In 2006 Ed formed the eCommerce and digital marketing functions at Abcam and built a team that focused on delivering the leading website and digital marketing in the industry. As CIO he led an international team across both technology and digital marketing functions, numbering over 70 people across four offices. When Ed left the company in 2015 Abcam had revenues of approximately £140m p.a.

Since leaving Abcam Ed has served in non-executive or consultancy roles related to technology and marketing at a range of Cambridge-based companies, including Red Gate Software, Axol Bioscience and Congenica. He also conducted consulting projects for Quartix in 2016 and, as a result of this appointment, he will focus his full-time attention on Quartix.

Ed has a first class honours degree in biochemistry from Southampton University, a PhD in molecular biology and biotechnology from Sheffield University and was conducting post-doctoral research at the University of Cambridge prior to joining Abcam.

Commenting on the appointment, Andy Walters, managing director of Quartix, said: “having worked with Ed over the past few months, I am delighted that he has accepted this senior-level position in the Company. Ed brings proven skills in digital marketing, technology and eCommerce which will be invaluable to Quartix in the next stage of its development. We look forward to working with him.”

Lynne Austin – director of UK fleet operations

Lynne has over 25 years of successful sales and account management experience, selling technical products and services to business clients and channel partners both in the UK and internationally. She has enjoyed a consistent record of achievement in a diverse range of dynamic and highly-competitive environments.

Having started her career in sales and support roles in technology and communications, she rapidly progressed to the position of UK sales manager at UTL Ltd., following which she was appointed as an international account director at AT&T, where she enjoyed exceptional success over a four year period. Subsequent roles included positions as business development director for Jetstream Communications Inc., deputy general manager at BT Global Services and then 5 years as global account general manager at Xerox Global Services. In each of these roles she was responsible for a range of clients, from small businesses through to global corporations.

Lynne’s most recent position was as sales director for the investment banking sector at Williams Lea, during which she managed a division with revenues in excess of £50m and 850 staff, providing document outsourced services.

Commenting on Lynne’s appointment, Andy Kirk, sales and marketing director for Quartix, said: “we are delighted to welcome Lynne to the company. Her proven track record in sales achievement and in developing technology businesses with both small and large business clients is a perfect fit with the requirements of our UK fleet operations”.