Serbus completes executive team for UK security push

Serbus has completed its executive leadership team with the appointments of a Group Chief Finance Officer and a Chief Information and Security Officer, as the newly unified business rolls out its "connect and protect" strategy for UK critical national services.

Jonathan Kay has joined as Group Chief Finance Officer and Roddy Wilson as Chief Information and Security Officer. The appointments complete a six-person executive team formed after the integration of ITM Communications, Bates IT and Serbus Limited under the Serbus brand.

Serbus works across communications infrastructure and managed services for organisations in government, health, defence, data centres, industrial and enterprise. It focuses on secure and resilient communications, with an emphasis on operational availability in environments linked to critical national infrastructure.

The group is backed by Aliter Capital, which has used a buy-and-build approach to form the business. Aliter focuses on support services and has invested in ICT-linked businesses in recent years.

Finance leadership

Kay brings more than 25 years' experience in finance roles within private equity-backed technology businesses. He previously served as Group CFO at Node4, where he led acquisitions and integration across IT managed services and data centres, and supported exit work.

At Serbus, he will oversee group financial strategy as the business scales, adding experience across private equity cycles and multi-business integration.

Security brief

Wilson takes responsibility for technical and engineering work across Serbus, including secure product development and the group's wider security direction.

He joins after more than 30 years in the British Army, serving as a senior Royal Signals officer and developing and delivering secure communications for special operations and NATO missions.

His appointment comes as defence-grade communications increasingly overlap with civilian critical infrastructure, with UK operators facing tighter resilience expectations, stronger cyber assurance requirements and greater scrutiny of supply chains and sovereignty in sensitive environments.

Wider team

The executive team also includes Chief Revenue Officer Max Baldwin, Chief Delivery Officer Paul Goodbrand and HR Director Lesley Purdie, alongside Group CEO Simon Fieldhouse. Together, they cover revenue, delivery, people, finance and security.

Baldwin leads growth strategy and has held roles across technology and security-focused services in nuclear, defence, cyber and government operations, including at Airbus, KBR, NCC Group and IBM.

Goodbrand brings more than 30 years' experience delivering ICT managed services into defence, health, utilities and data centres. He previously served as a divisional managing director at North and worked on buy-and-build programmes and integration during a private equity cycle.

Purdie joined from Telefónica Tech UK&I, where she was HR Director. Her experience includes leading people strategy through integration and scaling. Telefónica Tech UK&I expanded from 50 to more than 1,000 employees during her tenure, according to the company.

Serbus describes its operating model as end-to-end services for secure and resilient communications infrastructure. It also highlights UK-based delivery teams and security clearance, and cites National Cyber Security Centre approval as part of its approach to work in sensitive areas.

Demand for secure connectivity and operational resilience has increased as public sector bodies, regulated operators and critical infrastructure providers review cyber exposure and continuity planning. Providers are also under pressure to demonstrate UK sovereign support for some work, particularly where critical national infrastructure and defence supply chains intersect.

Fieldhouse described the changes as part of a wider transformation programme.

"This strengthened Executive Leadership Team marks a pivotal moment in our transformation. These appointments bring exactly the right expertise and experience, aligned to our security DNA, to drive and execute our growth plans, as we aim to become a UK leader in connecting and protecting critical national infrastructure," said Simon Fieldhouse, Group CEO, Serbus.

The leadership team will lead the next phase of growth following the integration of the three businesses under the unified brand.