Our Team You’ll find a diverse bunch in the team at Converged. Ice hockey players, motor bikers, hikers, dog lovers, gamers, military trainers, musicians, quiz champions and more. But one thing our professionals have in common is a passion for providing top class client comms, solving head scratching challenges and most importantly, ensuring client satisfaction.
Let us introduce you:
Having created the company in 2005, Neil is the godfather at Converged. He also goes by the titles Technical Director, Managing Director & CEO, but given his technical background he's much more comfortable with the former. His catalyst for going into business was to address a requirement in the IT and Telecoms industry for a service provider driven by cost-effectiveness, commitment to excellence and accountability. Neil will always dislike sloppy shoulder providers who merely point the blame between one another. Also unwavering is his love of Bruce Springsteen & Apple (Computer). Life is never dull for Neil and his wife Emma as they raise 3 young children, while juggling copious extracurricular activities and teaching them Gaelic.
Alex Ford-Hutchinson
Trainee IT Support Engineer
Alex our Trainee IT Support Engineer is taking every opportunity to build his skill set. Not only is he learning on the job, but he’s also currently studying an open university degree in Computer Science. Alex brings 3D software, graphic design, hardware, and customer service experience to his role which involves providing frontline IT support to clients. Problem solving, issue resolution and A LOT of PC building feature heavily in his days’ work. While he calls Ellon home, Alex has lived in Saudi Arabia and Newcastle. He enjoys spending time with his partner and their two sons, and when time allows, gaming.
At Converged, Alex is a Systems Engineer and spends his day resolving technical issues for clients, building and configuring PC’s and laptops, and can frequently be seen out and about in one of the Converged liveried vehicles. Outside work, Alex can be found riding motorbikes, playing drums in a classic rock band and growing fruit and vegetables, chillies being his speciality. He shares his home with two grown up children, a dog, two kittens and four chickens.
Andy F is a Systems Engineer. Aside from an HND in Computing Technical Support his skills have been amassed by hands on experience. Andy is often found with more computers than he can use, probably due to being a hoarder and not throwing anything away. In his role as Systems Engineer he can often be found in the depths of audit log files in Office 365, finding out when and why something has occurred. Andy enjoys the variety of his work. Two days are rarely ever the same.
As Chief Operations Officer, Andy is responsible for the day to day operations at Converged. Well known for never sitting still, he is also the brainchild behind many strategic moves including new service launches, geographical expansions and additions to our partner portfolio. Andy is equally well known for being a gadget guy; claiming to have more Alexa’s than Amazon and kicking back while his robot hoover does his chores. Andy enjoys golf, walking his dog Luna, spending time with his family and supporting his budding YouTuber son. The apple certainly doesn’t fall far.
Brian is part of the Business Development team at Converged and his duties are to liaise with existing and new customers, pre and post sales, helping Converged provide the highest quality service. Brian, educated at Robert Gordons College, initially trained as a Cost Accountant, however in a change of career path he diverged into Business Machines and IT. Latterly he was a director of Century Business Systems a long established and successful Aberdeen IT Company which was acquired by Converged during 2016. Brian is married and has one married daughter. Leisure time will see Brian working in his garden, enjoying playing the piano or socialising with family and friends.
Carolynne is our Business Support Manager and works alongside the BD team, with responsibility for retaining positive and sustainable relationships. Along with an HR and Business Support background, Carolynne was previously a transatlantic flight attendant which has given her a strong belief in outstanding customer service. She provides support to our management team and ensures the smooth running of the Aberdeen office. Carolynne has a teenage daughter and in between parental and chauffeuring duties, she enjoys going to the local gym as she is planning to sign up for a half marathon in the not too distant future. She also likes karaoke, though some say her singing and talking tones are exactly the same!
Craig, our Senior Network Architect is part of the connectivity team and works closely with our Technical Director, Neil. As well as a BSc Hons in Computer Network Management and Design from RGU, Craig is also CCNP accredited, an advanced certification at the professional level that requires deeper understanding of networks. He has 10+ years of industry experience, the majority gained while working at Converged with a couple of years employed as a network and security engineer for an oil operator. Craig is particularly skilled in network administration, Mitel, servers, and troubleshooting
Our Network and Telephony Engineer Craig holds an Abertay University Applied Networking degree and is responsible for maximising the performance of our clients’ connections and telephone systems. Overcoming network issues, configuring firewalls and setting up phone diverts are all part of his job. Craig's love of tech extends into his private life where he can often be found analysing computer issues or working on VoIP and game servers from his home in Fife. He also enjoys gravel cycling, walking his dogs and spending time with his niece and nephew.
Dayna is IT Administrator at Converged and currently training with the technical team. She enjoys the problem-solving element of her role and putting what she learns in her training into practice. She recently graduated from RGU, plays guitar and ukulele in her spare time, and is an Associate member of the British Association of Teachers of Dancing.
Doug is one of our IT Systems Engineers and can often "not" be found as he’s out and about conducting onsite visits, hidden in the depths of a client’s server room or out of view under desks installing equipment. When in-house, he can be found staring at his monitors, engrossed in (some) complicated tasks and generally avoiding human contact. We all love Doug’s dry humour; it is true that one of our colleagues managed to elicit no fewer than five smiles from him last year! Away from Converged Doug enjoys outdoor activities including skiing, skateboarding and especially mushing with Huskies. Although now with age, he admits to slowing down and being more careful on his outdoor adventures.
Our Systems Engineer Elliot holds an MSc in Information Technology, a BA in Finance from Aberdeen Uni, and is currently studying for his cloud exams. Elliot's passion for tech and self-proclaimed “geek” status are clear for clients to see and make him a great fit for our technical team. Although from Aberdeen originally, he spent most of his life in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Outside work he enjoys wild swims in Scotland’s lochs and rivers, as well as watching a good history or geography documentary.
Emma is responsible for developing and managing our marketing strategy and executing marketing campaigns both on and off-line. No two days are the same as she juggles planning, PR, social, events, newsletters, CSR, client comms, partner relationships, analytics and more. You can blame her for our penchant for pink! She holds a BA honours degree in Business Studies and a Post Grad Dip in Marketing. Outside of work her two kids keep her equally busy. Emma is a sucker when it comes to charities and has raised over £800k for local causes. She is also a volunteer puppy raiser for Guide Dogs.
Most if not all of Gareth’s time when not at work is spent taking care of his twins, Amelie and Hugo, along with his wife Erin. As a Service Delivery Manager, he maintains important relationships with his clients and also works as a first responder on the service desk. Gareth is also an avid gamer something which gives Gareth the stress relief required to function as a normal human being.
Gavin was employee #1 and as Technical Manager performs 2nd & 3rd Line desktop & server support, and client relationship management. This includes client problem solving, project management, implementation and troubleshooting. He couples this with administrative roles such as procurement, backup management and our own system administration. Gavin is Interested in virtualisation and responsible for researching new technologies to add to our portfolio. Outside of work, Gavin enjoys being a Dad and doing the morning school run. He's into DJ culture & mixes, PC gaming, movies, barbeques, comedy, American crime fiction and a good Indian meal.
Our Business Development Manager Greig brings over 15 years of network sales experience to the role. Specialising in managed networks, he also has a strong background in telecoms, data centres, security and LAN utilising brands such as Cisco, Meraki, Juniper and Mitel. Outside of work Greig lives with his wife in Westhill where he volunteers as a community first responder for the Scottish Ambulance Service. When not planning fibre networks or saving lives, Greig enjoys the odd game of golf and is a bit of an amateur gamer.
Based in our Inverness office, Karyn works as a Service Desk Engineer within the Telephony and Connectivity team, ensuring issues are resolved in a timely manner or escalated within the team for resolution. Her favourite part of the role is unpicking technical issues and being able to oversee a particular query or challenge from start to finish enabling her to deliver a great experience to the customer. Away from Converged Karyn can be found dabbling in her favourite pastimes of bread making, cake making and conjuring other sweet delights. She is an avid reader and daily offender of HIIT workouts and weight training.
Kevin is our Technical Sales Manager, neither sitting solely in Sales or Technical departments, Kev bridges the gap between both of these making sure that clients get the best possible solution from our portfolio of services. Having been a former owner and director of a successful IT Service company with Brian for nearly 20 years, he brings a wealth of experience to the role gained from over 30 years in the industry. Kev is married with two grown up sons and has a rescue dog called Jess. When not at work he enjoys being outdoors walking with his dog or under the bonnet of family and friend’s cars. Failing that the local pub is another place Kev hides.
Mark is our IT Delivery Manager and provides a Business Support Service to companies that need guidance and input from an experienced IT Manager but don't want to employ a full time person. Mark also coordinates the IT Support Team to ensure a high quality customer experience and balances this with preparing new equipment, maintaining servers and networks and delivering projects to agreed time-lines. He brings over 30 years of IT Consultancy & Management experience to the role. Mark lives near Inverurie and loves country, hill or coast rambles with his family and dogs. He enjoys dinghy sailing when he gets the chance and can usually be found in the garden at weekends.
As our Cyber Compliance Assessor, Nicola's role includes supporting our clients with information gathering and liaising with various certification bodies. Nicola is involved in every step of a client’s journey to cyber certification, from initial enquiry, through IT audit to successful accreditation. Out of work, Nicola loves to spend time with husband Andy, son Ben and granddaughter Isla. Not forgetting her lovely dog Luna. She is a lifelong avid supporter of the Scottish National football team and a proud member of the Tartan Army. If not with her family or at the footie, you'll find Nicola planning her next girls’ night out.
Roddy McDonald
Fibre Installation & Repair Engineer
Roddy is a Fibre Engineer within our connectivity team and brings experience of working on large scale fibre network projects to his role, including time spent with a major national infrastructure provider. At Converged, Roddy works closely with our Technical Director, supporting fibre to the home and fibre to the business customers. He has an honours degree in Business Management from RGU. Outside of work, Roddy enjoys spending time with his fiancé and family, travelling, and keeping active by golfing, skiing and biking.
Our Systems Engineer, Ross really is a jack of all trades. Having studied computing at college straight from school, he completed a networking course 10 years later and has experience of providing IT support in various industries including education, Oil & Gas and engineering. At Converged, Ross spends his day supporting clients, or as it is affectionately termed, ticket crunching. Outside of work, he is a DIY pro having singe handily taken on his home renovation and built a life size sleigh which everyone in his Aberdeenshire village loves at Christmas. Ross is married and has recently become a Dad.
Having initially studied Primary School Teaching at the University of Aberdeen, Stuart has always been support focussed. Transferring this to commerce, and as a keen and respectful educator, his mission as IT systems support engineer is to empower clients to help themselves. In the early 2010's, Stuart began his IT career with MSPs in Aberdeen, before broadening his horizons with a move to Wellington, New Zealand where he took on fulfilling support roles, got into Project Management and developed his coffee snobbery. Stuart is massively into American Football, running a weekly podcast and several fantasy leagues.
Sameer is our Senior Account Manager. He enjoys building long term and trusting relationships with clients, staff and suppliers, and takes pride in providing solutions that will help our clients to achieve their goals. He has a BA(hons) Degree in Business Management from The Robert Gordon University. Sameer is a huge sports fan and his love for Liverpool Football club is very obvious! He has a young family and spends most of his free time entertaining his 3 kiddies.
Since Stacey joined the team 9 years ago, her role has adapted as the company has grown. While she's been a familiar face on the service desk since day one, her HR responsibilities only began in 2016. Both roles provide challenges and new opportunities, so there's no time to be bored! Prior to working at Converged, Stacey provided IT support in the oil and gas industry, and cut her teeth in the NHS support team (entirely by accident – as they told her, you’re young, you must know computers 😊 ) Out of work you’ll likely find her doing mum stuff, watching true crime documentaries or making a complete shambles of herself at karate club.
Our Cyber Security Assessor Tiffany initially joined the company in 2020 as a Network & Security Engineer within the connectivity team. She recently became a fully qualified Cyber Essentials Assessor and brings practical experience of running vulnerability and penetration assessments to help secure company networks. Tiffany graduated with an honours degree in Ethical Hacking and is interested in further developing her social engineering and web application hacking techniques. In her free time, Tiffany enjoys outdoors activities as well as exploring Scotland’s mountain ranges.
Vlasta recently celebrated 10 years with us. In her role of Accounts Manager, she looks after all aspects of the day to day smooth running of the Finance Department. Amongst significant accomplishments she claims all the quarantine fads; yoga challenges, the sour dough starters, banana breads and Netflix box sets. She’s a fervent feminism enthusiast, podcasts junkie, aspiring jazz connoisseur, political debates aficionado & good weather gardener. Vlasta loves spending time dining out with her gal pals, and walks with hubby Gavin and son Oskar.