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Leadership Team

Fred Swaniker

Founder and CEO

Shaun Dippnall

Chief Delivery Officer

Michael Liley

Senior Managing Director, Partnerships

Piers Sanders

Chief Product Officer

Aidan Helmbold

Director of Innovation

Asong Suh

Managing Director, Customer Solutions

Abhishek Sandhir

Managing Director, Telecom - EMEA and SE Asia

Danai Mavunga

VP of People

Jonas Allen

VP of Marketing

Konstantin Besfamylnyi

Managing Director, Telecom - Americas

Matthew Panszczyk

Managing Director, Utilities - Americas

Nick Hu

Managing Director, Healthcare

Oyin Johnson-Awoniyi

Associate General Counsel

Richard Crisp

Managing Director, Oil & Gas

Sanjay Neogi

Managing Director, Utilities - Europe

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Fred Swaniker

Founder and CEO

Fred Swaniker is the Founder and CEO of Sand Technologies, a global technology company that builds enterprise-grade artificial intelligence applications for companies and governments worldwide.

Fred began his career at McKinsey & Company and earned an MBA from Stanford University, where he was named an Arjay Miller Scholar, a distinction awarded to the top 10% of each graduating class. He has been recognized as a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, a TED Fellow, and an Aspen Institute Fellow. He also serves on the board of the Rhodes Trust, which administers the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship at Oxford University, and is a member of the International Advisory Board of Waterloo University in Canada.

Fred was named one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World” in 2019 and received a Time 100 Impact Award in 2023. In 2024, he was honored with Stanford University’s President’s Award for the Advancement of the Common Good.

Shaun Dippnall

Chief Delivery Officer

An actuary with a vision, Shaun has worked with enterprise AI for more than a decade because of his passion to change the world. In a previous life, he has held the positions of Chief Data Scientist, Chief Actuary and Business Analyst for various telecommunications companies and research consultancies.

Michael Liley

Senior Managing Director, Partnerships

A recognized thought leader on the future of work, Michael understands the importance of an integrated partner ecosystem to achieve results in the modern business environment. At Sand Technologies, he builds and manages strategic relationships with key global partners. Michael was a Partner with Ernst & Young and a Managing Director with Accenture before joining Sand Technologies. The German resident is also a member of faculty at Lagos Business School.

Piers Sanders

Chief Product Officer

As Chief Product Officer of the Enterprise AI business, Piers leads the product, design, science and engineering teams as they create AI solutions and digital twins. The team’s work has delivered impactful results for clients around the world in the water, energy, telecommunications, insurance and healthcare industries. Piers brings more than 20 years of product leadership and executive management experience, and he is trusted by clients for his entrepreneurial, commercially minded and collaborative approach. He holds degrees from the London School of Economics and the University of Cambridge.

Aidan Helmbold

Director of Innovation

Aidan is an experienced data scientist with a demonstrated history of creating solutions in the financial services, utilities, telecommunications and healthcare industries. He spends his time building innovative operational AI systems that enable people to make better decisions in service of their customers. He is skilled in innovation, business strategy and risk management and has a strong academic background in Actuarial Science and Finance.

Asong Suh

Managing Director, Customer Solutions

Asong has guided the successful development of tech-forward business solutions for nearly two decades. For the past seven years, he has focused on enabling global clients to leverage AI, data science and data engineering to achieve key business outcomes. From his time as an electrical engineer through his tenure at McKinsey, Asong has remained passionate about helping companies find success through AI, digital technologies and advanced analytics.

Abhishek Sandhir

Managing Director, Telecom - EMEA and SE Asia

Abhishek is a technically astute, growth-focused leader with extensive experience in developing and growing businesses. He has led cross-functional projects and teams in the AI/ML, SaaS, infrastructure and telecommunications industries in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Africa.

Danai Mavunga

Vice President of People

Danai has spent more than a decade building systems and developing high-performing teams in high-growth organizations. Her focus on coupling people and strategy to drive business success has benefitted multiple organizations, from the World Health Organization and African Leadership University to Sand Technologies.

Jonas Allen

Vice President of Marketing

Jonas is an award-winning marketing professional who’s helped organizations tell strategic stories for more than 24 years. He began his career as a journalist before pivoting to B2B tech PR and marketing, where his leadership roles have included Global Head of Marketing for two billion-dollar business units at Wipro, Director of Marketing for the world’s premier electronics ecolabel, and Regional Marketing Manager for a US wireless operator.

Konstantin Besfamylnyi

Managing Director, Telecom - Americas

With 20 years of experience spanning telecommunications products, services and consulting, Konstantin leads the US Telecom business having worked in organizations such as Huawei, Comverse (acquired by Amdocs), PwC Advisory and Intellias. He has spent his career helping telecommunications providers, infrastructure companies and network equipment providers achieve impactful business outcomes and drive value using AI/ML, composable IT and ecosystems and modern management practices. A telecom engineer by training, Konstantin also holds an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business.

Matthew Panszczyk

Managing Director, Utilities - Americas

As a Managing Director of Energy and Utilities for Sand Technologies, Matt is responsible for the growth and development of the E&U practice in North America. His background includes 20-plus years of experience helping E&U Clients with complex Grid Modernization transformations in the following emerging areas Digital Worker, Smart Grid, Enterprise Asset Management, Grid Control Systems, DERs, Asset Performance Management, AI, Drones, and Robotic Rovers. Matt has an EMBA from the University of Notre Dame. In his spare time, he enjoys reading, golf, raising awareness for Autism, and fundraising for the Els for Autism Foundation. He has two lovely boys on the spectrum.

Nick Hu

Managing Director, Healthcare

Nick has more than 15 years of experience launching healthcare companies in Africa, most recently for drone company Zipline, expanding operations to five countries. Nick holds a Masters in Global Health from UCSF and studied System Design at UC Berkeley. Nick focuses primarily on the intersection of health tech and operations to increase access to health services.

Oyin Johnson-Awoniyi

Associate General Counsel

Oyin is a dual-qualified solicitor and barrister with an LLM from the University of Cambridge and an extensive background in corporate, technology and AI law. She leads the Legal, Compliance, Risk and Privacy Team across seven countries, advising on multimillion-dollar transactions, global compliance and AI-driven legal innovation. As an advocate for technology in law, Oyin has contributed to shaping Nigeria’s legal tech landscape through the Nigerian Bar Association Technology Executive Committee. Her work in legal innovation, governance and social impact continues to shape the future of law and technology.

Richard Crisp

Managing Director, Oil & Gas

Richard has more than 30 years of experience in the Oil & Gas sector, having led client solutioning and relationships for KPMG, IBM and Infosys Consulting, the latter two as a Partner. As Managing Director of the Oil & Gas vertical at Sand Technologies, he brings a deep understanding of value-based consulting and a world-class delivery record. With these insights, along with his passion for developing talent, the US and UK citizen plays a key role in the company’s North America and global organization.

Sanjay Neogi

Managing Director, Utilities - Europe

Sanjay is an accomplished business leader with three decades of experience in the energy and utilities sector. His unique blend of industry, consulting and IT experience has helped him build a reputation as a digital transformation leader across the UK, US, Europe, Asia, India, Australia and Middle East. He has worked extensively with the UK’s utilities and energy market for the past 20 years. Sanjay’s career has included senior leadership roles in TCS and Capgemini, as well as a Country Head role for Enzen, a boutique energy and utilities-focused organization.