Inabox appoints new board member

 

David Rampa: Thanks Dallas, it’s a pleasure to be here.

 

Dallas Baird: David why did you decide to take Inabox Board seat as Non-Executive Director?

 

David Rampa: Well I’ve actually known Damian Kay for quite a few years, back to my days with SingTel Optus; Damian was there at the same time. And when I looked at Inabox and the innovative technology and enablement technology they’ll be bringing to the telecoms sector, it was such an interesting space and one industry I’d had a long association with. There was just a great natural fit and I believed that I could deliver and bring great value to the Board for this Company, that I had a great regard for.

 

Dallas Baird: So what is Inabox’s relationship with M2?

 

David Rampa: Well like all relationships say in the telecoms industry, it’s multi-tiered. M2 is a supplier to Inabox. But also M2 has a strategic investment in Inabox as well, which they made at the time of the IPO. And that really was in recognition of the great business platform that Damian and the team had built. But also Damian’s leadership style and the great leadership that he was providing to the Company and therefore, throughout the industry, M2 saw it as a very important investment for us.

 

Dallas Baird: You’ve been involved in the telecommunications industry for quite some time. Can you tell me about some of your achievements?

 

David Rampa: So I started right at the time of deregulation when I joined Telstra, back when it was first entering a competitive market to set up co-selling relationships, mainly with technology companies. And if you think about it, this was really the start of convergence in the telecoms and IT space. So I joined Telstra, helped them set up those co-selling relationships with technology companies such as IBM, HP, National Cash Register NCR. 

 

And then from that moved through various divisions and then finally into the wholesale division, where I led a fairly significant study of USA and Canadian telecommunications companies. Looking at how they did their wholesale business, and bringing back that strategy and structure to Telstra. And really reformed and restructured Telstra’s telecommunications division, to aggressively go after that opportunity in the market. 

 

From there I then joined SingTel Optus to head up their wholesale division and again, led that division for a number of years at a very exciting time. And during that time, I was also Deputy Chairman of SPAN, the Service Provider Association which was the pre-eminent Association of telecoms companies looking to lead government thinking, deregulation and growth within the industry.

 

Dallas Baird: You’ve also got a lot of experience in investment banking and corporate advisory. How’s that going to help at Inabox?

 

David Rampa: So think that’s, you know, a rather unique combination. So there’s sort of the Dtelecoms understanding and industry experience, but combined with the understanding of the global financial markets; helping companies with their capital strategic plans, aligning it with their business plans. And really helping companies have the enablement through the right capital, to meet their growth objectives. So a lot of that understanding, sort of those two sectors combined, I think are a very appropriate addition for the Inabox Board.

 

Dallas Baird: Your interests outside of telecommunications are pretty broad; you’re on the Board of Rockstar Music, which deals in electronic dance music in the US. Tell me about that?

 

David Rampa: Yes so apart from the great name of the company, that’s really around rich content.  And the Rockstar Music has a platform called Mixify, which is for the indie and electronic dance music DJs to broadcast, to stream to their fans around the world. And so really if you think about it, it’s putting this rich content to the Gen Y in terms of meeting them in their interest group, but also giving them a social networking platform. In the music industry I mean Mixify, much like Inabox to be honest, is very much disruptive technology. 

 

It’s changing the way that we traditionally, you know, meet our music providers, the way that we actually listen to our music, that we receive our music. Much in the same way that Inabox is changing the landscape in how a retailer can become a telecommunications provider for example, or an energy company can become a telecommunications provider. So both are offering disruptive platforms, which is what I find very exciting and challenging.

 

Dallas Baird: Well David Rampa, thanks for your time.

 

David Rampa: It was a pleasure.

ENDS