Andy Valdar BTech Msc CEng FIET FITP

Journal Editorial Board / Associate Director

Andy Valdar’s career began in 1965 when he joined Thorn Electrical industries as a student apprentice in support of his four-year honours degree course in electronic and electrical engineering at Loughborough University of Technology. On graduating in 1969, he joined what is now BT (then the GPO) as an open-competition executive engineer in the Network Planning Department.

Some 18 months after joining BT, Andy was awarded a bursary to study full time at Essex University for an MSc in telecommunications systems. On returning to BT he became involved in the pioneering work concerned with the introduction of digital switching in BT’s network.

In 1977, Andy took the opportunity of joining the UN ITU agency for a three-year teaching and course development assignment in India. As a consequence of this experience in India, he subsequently undertook ITU teaching assignments in Bangladesh, India, and Swaziland. Based on this work, Andy became the co-author of a text book on digital SPC exchanges.

After returning to the UK in 1980, Andy’s career in BT has ranged from network planning, development of international standards and technical strategy, marketing, product management and new product development. During the last nine years of his time in BT he became General Manager of network and technology strategy and his remit took on a global as well as UK responsibility. His strategy roles covered all parts of the network, and included representing the technical aspects in dealings with the national regulator. Andy worked closely with several of BT’s joint venture companies as well as with MCI and AT&T from the USA.

In 1999 Andy left BT to take up the role with University College London as Academic Director of the BT Masters Programme, which led to an MSc in Telecommunications Business. He then moved to take over the directorate of BT’s other MSc Programme – the BT MSc.

Andy is currently active in international conferences, he was President of FITCE for three years, and was chairman of the ITP Journal’s Board of Editors for 15 years. He is the author of four text books on telecommunications networks.

Andy’s main strengths are his abilities to establish a strategic view and to be able to explain complex technical issues in an easily understood systematic manner, making him a successful teacher and presenter. He is married with two married children and five grandchildren.