BASINGSTOKE, England, June 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- Move Will Address Growing Demand for End-to-End Consultancy Services

Farncombe Consulting Group, the privately-held UK-based communications technology consultancy, has launched a new dedicated strategy practice, Farncombe Strategy. Farncombe Strategy joins Farncombe Technology in the newly-formed Farncombe Consulting Group.

Farncombe Strategy is a joint venture with TMT Strategy Advisors, a firm focused on providing strategic advice to leading players in the telecoms and digital media sectors. It will be led by two high-profile consultants from the Technology, Media and Telecoms sector: Tom McKeever, Managing Director of TMT Strategy Advisors, and Adriana Menezes Whiteley, previously a Director at Ovum's consulting division. Farncombe Strategy will concentrate on strategy consulting and transaction services support in the Technology, Media and Telecommunications sectors. It will be based in London, UK, and draw upon its dedicated team of experienced strategy consultants as well as a network of industry experts to deliver strategic advice to its clients globally.

"This new joint venture not only combines media with telecoms expertise, but adds extra resources in strategic and financial analysis to our existing core technology competencies," said Dr Stephen Upton, Managing Partner at Farncombe Technology. "It will further strengthen our ability to provide the type of end-to-end consultancy service, from Business Strategy, through Technology Planning and into Implementation, that many customers are now seeking."

"As convergence between television, Internet and telecoms develops, technology is adapting very quickly and playing an increasingly significant role in strategy," said Tom McKeever, Managing Director of TMT Strategy. "With the technical expertise and knowledge of Farncombe Technology, our new sister company, to draw upon, we can provide clients with complete strategic advice, from commercial to technical. For both Farncombe and us, it's the perfect marriage. We look forward to being part of Farncombe's continuing expansion."

For more details, visit http://www.farncombestrategy.com

Farncombe Strategy Profiles

Tom McKeever - Managing Partner, Farncombe Strategy

Tom has over 25 years' experience working in the TMT sector globally. He has worked extensively in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. He specialises in the areas of strategic formulation and execution, business planning, transaction support, partnership strategy, business performance and change. He has worked across the industry, including mobile, wireless and fixed telecoms, satellite, internet, digital media, cable, equipment vendors, as well as private equity and venture capital.

Prior to the creation of Farncombe Strategy, Tom McKeever was Managing Director of TMT Strategy Advisors, a specialist consultancy focused on providing strategic advice to leading telecoms and digital media clients. Before that he was Consulting Director and Commercial Practice Leader at Ovum, he founded and led telecoms strategy consultants Motion Strategy Advisors, was a Director in the PricewaterhouseCoopers Global Telecoms Management Consulting Practice and was Director of Strategic Management for Pacific Bell, a unit of AT&T. Prior to specialising in telecoms, Tom was with Deloitte's Management Consulting and IBM.

He holds a BSc in Computer Science from Syracuse University, he did graduate research in Computer Science at the University of Florida and holds an MBA in Finance and Strategy from the Wharton Graduate School of Business. He is a Certified Management Consultant (CMC) and an Associate Member of the Institute of Directors.

Adriana Menezes Whiteley - Managing Partner, Farncombe Strategy

Adriana has over 12 years experience in the telecommunications sector. she has worked for satellite, wireless and wireline operators, broadcasters, equipment suppliers, broadband providers, banks, multilateral lending organisations, and private equity groups in Latin America, the USA, Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Her experience lies in strategy development, due diligence work, market assessment, operational reviews and business plan formulation for telecom and media companies.

Prior to being a founding partner of Farncombe Strategy, Adriana was a Consulting Director at Ovum, where she concentrated on commercial strategy assignments, especially M&A transaction support projects. Prior to that she was a Director for Arnaud & Co, a mergers and acquisitions boutique specialised in telecommunications transactions; was Program Manager - Telecoms Latin America in the Yankee Group; was a member of Telefonica's strategic planning group; and worked for McKinsey & Co.

Adriana is fluent in Portuguese, Spanish and English. She holds a Journalism Degree from Casper Libero Sao Paulo.

About Farncombe Consulting Group

The Farncombe Consulting Group is the parent company of a number of specialised professional service firms operating in the broad digital video technology, telecoms and digital media sectors. Initially specialising in pay-TV and digital TV through founder company Farncombe Technology, it has since grown into a globally-recognized television technology consultancy, servicing a 70-strong international client roster that includes broadcasters, operators, telcos, equipment suppliers and a variety of government and regulatory bodies. The Farncombe Consultancy Group now encompasses Farncombe Technology and Farncombe France, a Paris-based unit, as well as Farncombe Strategy.

High-profile engagements that can be currently disclosed include supervising the operational aspects of Tiscali's triple-play rollout in the UK, and helping green support services company eaga deliver the UK's GBP500m Digital Switchover Help Scheme (DSHS) on behalf of the BBC.

The Farncombe Consulting Group's current focus is on the increased opportunities made available by a converging market which extends from cable, satellite and terrestrial delivery to telco-managed IPTV, video-over-Internet and mobile TV offerings.

Core competencies include: - Due Diligence and M&A Support - Strategy and Market Research - Regulatory Support Supporting Digital Migrations and Analogue Switch-off - System Architecture, Technical Design, Implementation and Integration Services - Contract Negotiation, Vendor Selection and Programme Management - Technical Audit, Technical Management and Problem Resolution - Strategic Planning, Product Positioning Business and Process Re-engineering - Conditional Access and DRM.

The Farncombe Consulting Group applies these competencies to the planning, management, transport and secure delivery of video and other new content services.

For more details, visit http://www.farncombe.eu

About TMT Strategy Advisors

TMT Strategy Advisors was founded in London in 2007 to address the needs of companies in the facing moving telecoms and digital media industries. The key focus of the firm was on the formulation and implementation of operational strategies that are pragmatic, executable and measurable and that take into account the key technology, commercial and regulatory changes that are creating great risk and opportunity across the industry. TMT worked with leading organisations such as Telefonica, the World Bank and Ericsson.

Contact: Farncombe Strategy Tom McKeever E: Tom.McKeever@farncombestrategy.com or Adriana Menezes Whiteley E: Adriana.Whiteley@farncombestrategy.com Farncombe Consulting Group Mrs Georgina Saunders Tel: +44-1256-844-161

Contact: Farncombe Strategy, Tom McKeever, M: +44-7813-835-268, E: Tom.McKeever@farncombestrategy.com or Adriana Menezes Whiteley, M: +44-7525-323-183, E: Adriana.Whiteley@farncombestrategy.com. Farncombe Consulting Group, Mrs Georgina Saunders, Tel: +44-1256-844-161