Smart CT appoints Eddie Egan as Chief Operating Officer

Smart CT has appointed Eddie Egan as chief operating officer as the technology lifecycle services provider scales operations following recent contract wins.

Egan said his priority is to keep customer service aligned with the company's growth. Based in Reading, Smart CT operates across the UK and Europe, providing deployment, maintenance, replacement and repair services for business-critical IT infrastructure.

The company works on behalf of IT manufacturers that serve organisations relying on connected devices such as networking equipment, servers and workplace technologies.

Smart CT has more than 65 engineers across the UK and Europe and runs support services designed to dispatch engineers and parts across Europe at short notice.

Egan joins from BT, where he spent 26 years. He started as a field engineer before moving into management roles linked to digital transformation.

In his new role, he said he will focus on processes and operating models that can scale as Smart CT expands, with an emphasis on standardisation and repeatability as the business moves into additional service areas.

"I'm here to ensure that we are delivering exceptional experiences and services for our customers, making sure that we're delivering it in a manner that enables us to grow sustainably," Egan said.

He also set out an operational agenda focused on reducing day-to-day complexity, linking it to the company's expansion into workplace technologies.

"Seeing how quickly the business is growing into new areas like workplace technologies, my focus is making sure that we're simplifying and standardising the ways we work, stripping out some of the complexity and making sure that we've got repeatable processes in place that enable the business to flow, but also then scale up into new areas," he said.

Scaling service

The appointment follows a busy period of commercial activity. Chief executive officer Andy Morgan said Smart CT has won five major contracts in the last three months and hired a COO to protect service levels as the company takes on more work.

"Eddie comes with a lot of experience from a large, mature organisation where he's seen investments in support systems at scale - and we want to grow our business further without sacrificing customer service so he's a brilliant fit," Morgan said.

Morgan said Egan will take responsibility for technology changes within operations, focused on internal systems used to run service delivery.

"He'll be driving technological enhancements to streamline our systems and bringing all the expertise that led him to such key roles at BT. It's an important appointment for us and we are all looking forward to seeing what he can do," he said.

From BT

Egan said he decided to join Smart CT after speaking with Morgan and the wider team, adding that the move offers a different working environment from a large telecommunications group.

"When I spoke to Andy and the team, I was impressed by the culture they have and their drive to grow the business by delivering great service for customers, that's massively important to me," he said.

He said he also wanted to be closer to decisions and outcomes. Based in Sheffield, he was attracted by the opportunity to work in the Thames Valley with Smart CT's leadership team.

"I want to be part of an organisation that cares about its employees and customers and wants to deliver and make a difference, and that really was a selling point," he said.

"The other reason was that although I loved working for BT, it can be a juggernaut to try and get things done. I've always wanted to be in a business where you can be really fleet of foot, deliver things quickly, look to generate growth, but also take people I work with on a journey, that's really important to me," he added.

Early focus

Egan said his first weeks in the role have focused on meeting teams and reviewing ways of working, including how Smart CT's support model operates across multiple territories.

"As in any new role, you can immediately see things where there could be changes, but for me it's understanding the way that we work today, having the conversations with the team as to why we do it, what we could do differently," he said.

He described a shift from back-to-back calls to spending more time in direct conversations across the business, which he linked to the need to keep customers front of mind as Smart CT grows.

"Previously my days were packed with calls from six till six so it's great to have the capacity to spend meaningful, focused time with our team and to get to the know the business, and our customers - something that will be essential as we continue to grow," he said.

Egan said the pace of change in a growing company can test teams and that Smart CT must keep staff aligned as it evolves its operations and takes on more work.

"Change can be challenging, but change in a growing business is a fun and exciting place to be. So while we've got this opportunity as a business to really drive and grow, we need to make sure that we're on board together and are all part of it," he said.