EVENT
Partner Connect 2025 –
event highlights
On 13 February, Virgin Media Business Wholesale hosted our third annual Partner Connect at London County Hall.
Over 150 guests came for a day of talks followed by drinks, dinner and a charity casino.
Partners heard the latest news on low and high bandwidth products, updates on delivery, digital and commercial and talks by senior leaders including Director of Wholesale John Chester.
Later there was a panel discussion on women in STEM chaired by Leanne Bonner-Cook, MBE, and featuring our Managing Director Jo Bertram.
In the evening, CEO Lutz Schüler gave a brief address on the coming year. Producer, journalist and lecturer Sam McAlister spoke about her role scheduling and producing the infamous Prince Andrew interview on Newsnight. And the winners of the 2025 Partner Connect Awards were announced.
Growth beyond boundaries
The theme of Partner Connect 2025 was accelerating growth.
After two years of improvements, Virgin Media Business Wholesale has built the foundations to upscale efficiently and meet growing demand from partners.
John Chester predicted a year of continuing momentum in 2025, backed by ongoing investment, leading to gains for our partners.
Lutz Schüler stressed that while industry conditions are more challenging, the company is experiencing growth and expanding its network.
The talks
John Chester kicked off the day by outlining Virgin Media Business Wholesale’s position today – buoyed by a year of financial success, stronger in terms of processes, delivery and investment and entering a period of increasing growth.
Speaking on low bandwidth, Head of Technical and Partner Success Mat Preston shared an update on the launch of XGS-PON, explaining that despite delays the product is a priority for our business and due to be launched by the end of the year.
He was joined by Head of Projects and Programmes Graham Johnston and Head of Business Partners Raza Baloch to discuss:
- Our role in helping the indirect channel community to grow the UK digital economy
- The value we provide as a strategic connectivity partner on large, multi-site Ethernet projects, set apart by the size of our network, expertise of our teams and our collaborative approach to tenders
- Our large project service wrap, specially designed to manage and deliver opportunities with 30+ sites; its effectiveness is demonstrated by the 16 major projects partners won with our support in 2024
Next, Chief Technology Officer Jeanie York discussed the evolution of Virgin Media O2’s network, with the expansion of our FTTP footprint and launch of our CIN metro network.
Jeanie shared fascinating insights into her team’s use of AI and Digital Twin technology to run simulations on our network for predictive fault prevention and capacity management.
Mat Preston, along with Head of BD and Infrastructure Sales Ben Archer and Head of Fixed-Connectivity Products Jamie McGee, discussed high bandwidth, sharing how the company has:
- Streamlined processes to make it easier to check serviceability, plan routes and design solutions using our Smart Planning Tool (SPT)
- Committed to ongoing investment in our network to improve the delivery of our high bandwidth products, including the launch and expansion of our new National High Capacity Services (NHCS) core and CIN metro networks
- Reduced prices and sped up the delivery of products
A series of fireside chats included updates by Senior Digital Product Owner James Woodcock and Digital Product Owner Scott Steward.
They were followed by Graham Johnston and Director of Major Programmes and B2B Neil Hunt who spoke about delivery. By knocking 13 days off delivery times and lowering the average age of work in progress (WIP) orders by 9 days, we achieved our fastest ever delivery times in 2024.
Leanne Bonner-Cook, MBE, chaired a discussion on Women in STEM titled ‘Leadership that lasts: Building a legacy of inclusion’. Speakers were Mikaela James of Neos Networks, Jennifer Harrison of PlatformX Communications, Mary Gatehouse of Ciena and our own Jo Bertram.
Jo reflected that diverse teams perform at a higher level and drive growth, so the statistic that only 24% of STEM workers are female represents both a limitation and an opportunity.
She discussed the importance of open-minded, accessible and jargon-free recruitment, while Jenny highlighted education programmes that inspire young girls to work in technology.
Mikaela stressed the importance of education, not only in terms of school outreach but to give employees the time and resources they need to upskill. Mary, who highlighted the role of mentoring in fostering inclusion, added that investment in current employees can pay off for years ahead as skills and information flow downstream.
Proud to be your partner
The day was a fantastic opportunity to update partners and learn how we can support your growth.
Virgin Media Business Wholesale’s annual roadmap is shaped by partner feedback, and we thrive through the growth of our partners.
We’re looking forward to building on the successes of 2024 and working together collaboratively in 2025.
As Lutz reflected, “Challenge us for better solutions, and we’ll challenge you back to grow with us this year.”
For more information about anything discussed on the day, please contact your account manager.
Partner Connect Awards, 2025
If you missed the event or simply want to relive some of the highlights, look through our gallery below.
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