Investors

Stephe Wilks

Stephe is an active non-executive Director on the Board of several public and private companies. He has a particular emphasis on effective commercial operations, technology, governance, corporate finance and M&A.

Stephe is Chair of 1st Group Limited and non-executive director of ASX listed BluGlass Limited (ASX:BLG) and Interactive Pty Limited.

Stephe has extensive corporate finance, CEO, senior management and operational experience, particularly in the Australian and US markets, building on earlier work for telcos in the UK, Australia and the Asia Pacific. He previously held roles as diverse as Chief Operating Officer of an aggressive wireless broadband infrastructure company, Consulting Director of NM Rothschild & Sons, and COO of Nextgen Networks. Before Nextgen, Stephe was founder and Managing Director of XYZed, where he developed and managed Australia’s first competitive broadband wholesaler.

He has Science and Law degrees from Macquarie University and a Master of Laws from the University of Sydney.

Michael Omeros

Michael is the Managing Director of Over the Wire and has more than 25 year’s experience as an entrepreneur, senior executive and Director in the IT, telecommunications and data industries.

Following the completion of a Bachelor of Engineering – Electronics (First Class Honours) and Bachelor of IT (with Distinction) in 1994, Michael worked in a senior management role at GBST and for Zurich Insurance in the UK before returning to Brisbane.

Between 2007 and 2011 he joined with business partners Brent Paddon and Jay Binks to create a range of high growth businesses in the telecommunications, cloud and IT industries with a particular focus on providing corporate clients with access to an integrated suite of products and services.  In 2009 Over the Wire debuted in the BRW Fast Starters list.

In 2015, Michael led the consolidation and ASX-listing of a number of businesses under the Over the Wire umbrella including NetSIP, VoIP and PBX provider FaktorTel and data and hosting business Sanity Technology. As part of the listing the company raised $10 million and was listed with a market capitalisation of $43.5 million.

Since listing, Michael has overseen a significant expansion of the company through a combination of organic growth and acquisition. Today, Over the Wire has approximately 300 employees, over 16,000 customers, annual revenue of more than $112 million (FY21) and a market capitalisation of nearly $300 million. Michael remains the largest shareholder in Over the Wire.

Brent Paddon

Brent is a co-founder and Director of the Company.

Brent has over 20 years of experience in telecommunications and IT services sectors and graduated from QUT in 1996 with a Bachelor of IT. He also completed a Graduate Diploma in Business Administration from QUT in 2008.

Prior to Over the Wire, Brent held a senior management role at WebCentral, worked for Pipe Networks and founded Brisbane Internet Technology, which was sold to Asia Online.

Susan Forrester

Susan is a highly respected and accomplished professional Company Director with a powerful blend of management, board and consulting experience across ASX-listed, public and private companies. She draws on 25 years of executive management expertise in large professional services firms, covering law, finance, HR, business and governance, to bring a practical and pragmatic approach to her board contributions.

Susan has a proven leadership track record as a CEO and senior executive in the national professional services and global finance industries. Her in-depth expertise in financial services and prudential supervision draws on her experience as a banking and finance lawyer with Allens, corporate counsel with the predecessor to the Australian Prudential Regulation Authority and as Executive Director with Queensland Treasury Corporation. Since leaving her CEO role in 2010, Susan has gained a wealth of experience at the board table in complex corporate transactions, including private and public company mergers and acquisitions, industry aggregations, and overseeing successful capital raising.

Susan’s strengths lie in strategy and governance within industries that are undergoing rapid change. She chairs, and has been a member of, various ASX-listed audit, risk management and remuneration committees.

In addition to her legal qualifications, Susan has an EMBA from the Melbourne Business School and is a Fellow of the AICD. She is a sought-after mentor, strategic adviser and advocate for improving performance and the quality of decision making around the Board table.

On Australia Day 2019, she was awarded a Member (AM) in the General Division of the Order of Australia for significant service to business through governance and strategic roles, and as an advocate for women.
 
Susan chairs the Audit and Risk Committee at OTW.

Cathy Aston

Cathy was appointed as an independent director of Over the Wire effective first of July 2020.

She is an experienced Chair and non-executive director of telecommunications, digital and financial services businesses in Australia and greater Asia. Senior executive experience includes CEO/Managing Director, Mobitel Pvt Ltd (Sri Lanka) and Finance Director for Telstra International (Hong Kong).

Cathy holds a Bachelor of Economics from Macquarie University and a Master of Commerce from the University of NSW. She is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and a Fellow of the Financial Services Institute of Australia.