Lamont and ex-Ofcom exec join Phorm board

 

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By Barry Collins

Posted on 1 Dec 2008 at 16:35

Former Chancellor Norman Lamont and a former Ofcom board member have joined the board of controversial behavioural advertising service, Phorm.

The appointments follow boardroom turmoil at the company, which sees the departure of three existing board members and Phorm's chief operating officer. The three are leaving as a "result of differences with [Phorm CEO] Mr. Ertugrul as to the management and future direction of the Company," according to a Phorm announcement.

Lamont, the man who infamously led the country into Black Wednesday during the Major Government, has been appointed as a non-executive director.

But perhaps the most intriguing appointment is that of Kip Meek, also as non-executive director. Meek is a former board member of telecoms regulator Ofcom and also has a stint at BT on his CV.

He's also the current non-executive chairman of the Broadband Stakeholder Group, which counts BT and several major ISPs among its members, and bills itself as the "UK Government's leading advisory group on broadband."

Earlier this year, the Broadband Stakeholder Group claimed Britain should wait before deploying next-generation fibre broadband because the "benefits to the UK associated with the wide-scale deployment could outweigh the cost of deployment."

"I welcome Lord Lamont, Kip, Stefan [Allesch-Taylor] and Stephen [Partridge-Hicks] to the Board," says CEO Ertugrul. "They bring extensive experience on government, business, regulatory matters and financial markets. As we move into the next phase of our development, the priority will be to build momentum in the rollout of our strategy. The new Board members that we are announcing today will play an important role in helping us to achieve the Company's goals."

Phorm is currently conducting a trial of its technology with BT, which last month prompted cries of censorship by banning Phorm-related discussions on its support forums.