Forging independence and building for the future
2024 saw Zayo Europe –
- Establish Zayo Europe as an independent entity,
- Add extensive network coverage across Germany,
- Extend reach with new diverse transatlantic routes, a Stockholm PoP for ultra-secure finance data, and a third subsea cable from Paris to London,
- Design a low latency network solution that powers critical global pharmaceutical research and development,
- Connect millions of people around the world to all the action at the Paris Olympics,
- Appoint a new CEO, Colman Deegan, and a new Chief Financial Officer, Jennifer Smith.
What change needs
Change requires change, so a strategic programme was set in motion to ensure we were all pulling together, across every team, on activities that maximise growth for ourselves and our customers.
People initiatives were launched that took our senior women on a personal brand journey, and a group of leaders from across Europe met off site to work on how to be even more collaborative. Fostering a culture of friendliness and togetherness has always been important, and we wanted to take time to ensure this isn’t lost on our growth journey.
Some big moments
Awards were won, for the second year in a row, one of our people, (this time Nick Davis, Deal Manager) won Capacity Media’s Rising Star award, and we were a finalist for Connected Britain’s ‘B2B Service Provider of the Year’ – acknowledging our support of ISP and AltNet customers. This group of customers saw us grow Zayo Europe core network usage in the UK from 1 in every 7 households, to 1 in every 6 households!
We maintained our status as industry-leaders for customer service, even with the large scale challenge of events like the Paris Olympic’s network sabotage – we’re closing 2024 with a network availability stat of 99.994%, blended meantime to install is at 35 days and to repair is 7.5 hours.
What our people have to say about 2024 and the changes;
Johann Binois, Senior Manager, Fibre Engineering in Paris, had this to say about 2024;
“2024 demonstrates our commitment to excellence and resilience. Despite the challenges posed by simultaneous attacks on three critical infrastructure points in France, our teams achieved a remarkable network recovery, restoring services in record time. This demonstrated our dedication to reliable and responsive network operations.
During the Paris Olympics, we maintained seamless service and successfully managed network maintenance, thanks to strong coordination led by Philippe Randoulet. In our continued efforts to enhance connectivity, we launched the ‘Tulip’ project, deploying 1,000km of next-generation network infrastructure. This involved the installation of 266 new connection chambers and 100km of civil engineering work in urban areas.
Additionally, our new operational monitoring tools allowed us to improve project tracking and real-time access to key performance indicators, ensuring timely and efficient project management. The opening of our PoP Sarette in Southern Paris marked another milestone in expanding connectivity to meet growing demand.
We also demonstrated our ability to adapt to evolving urban infrastructures, as seen in our integration with Lyon’s Netcenter MAN, enabling better network coverage and offering diverse solutions to our customers. As we close the year, we continue to innovate and strengthen our network, all thanks to the passion and collaboration of our dedicated teams.”
Establishing an independent brand in a matter of months is no mean feat, Celine Marques, Marketing & Communications Director comments;
“2024 was a pivotal year of reinvention for Zayo Europe – establishing our stand-alone identity while navigating rapid growth. Marketing played a key role in this transformation, redefining our brand and launching a strong digital presence in just two months, amplifying visibility across key European markets.
But this is just the beginning. We’ve reinforced Zayo Europe’s position as a leader in high-performance connectivity and laid the foundation for a future driven by bold innovation and customer-centric growth. It’s the passion and dedication of our people that will propel us forward, united by a shared ambition to make our customers happy and grow. Watch this space: 2025 will be a year of acceleration.”
Anna Jarman, Chief of Staff and Programme Management, was integral in managing the changes, she explains;
The separation of Zayo Europe from the Zayo North America and Zayo Global Reach businesses felt like all major business changes; both exciting and daunting. Understandably, the focus was on completing the structural, legal and financial separation, whilst maintaining operational stability for all three organisations; we were thorough, we were focused, and we were successful. But we were very mindful of the additional challenges for our people which saw us carefully navigating the inclusion of appropriate business function representatives to ensure we hadn’t missed anything, whilst balancing communication about the progress and the future, without placing unnecessary emotional burdens on our dedicated teams.
Then, with a new CEO at the helm, a newly appointed Chairperson and Board of Directors, and with separation successfully concluded at the end of summer, our focus shifted to the future and our strategic goals for 2025 – which will be our first full year of independence!
This second focus has been more impactful than the separation itself. Yes, that certainly was a heavy lift, but it was simply an enabler. What has happened since is the real turning point for Zayo Europe; to exit 2024 with a clear line of sight for a successful 2025 is fantastic! We have a strong Executive Committee and Senior Leadership Team in place, who are supported by an enormously skilled and experienced workforce; the Zayo Europe family. The current sense of clarity, commitment, and excitement as we close 2024 is our secret sauce for future success. That is what our independence has enabled.
Sabrina Lorbschat recently joined Zayo Germany to lead the team, Sabrina said this of her decision;
“For me there was no question in becoming part of Zayo Europe, we have laid the foundation for incredible opportunities with the integration of Globalways and the GasLine agreement.
The German market is changing significantly in many ways. Topics such as cybersecurity and artificial intelligence are now increasingly important for companies. So 2024 was an important year in creating the foundation to meet the challenges of the coming year. I am convinced that by expanding our infrastructure, especially in metro cities, and our international footprint, we will be able to meet the needs of the economy to the highest degree.”
Jemma Smith, reflected on her past four months since joining Zayo Europe as Procurement Director;
“I am filled with excitement about our operational trajectory and the remarkable pace of our expansion. For my procurement team, this translates to a dynamic presence in the industry, where we actively engage in sourcing new suppliers while simultaneously nurturing and strengthening our relationships with existing partners.
Earlier this year, I had the privilege of attending Capacity Europe, where I connected with both suppliers and customers. I continue to be inspired by the rapid expansion and growing demand within our industry.
Since the summer, we have successfully expanded from approximately eight regions to over twenty-five, with growth still on the horizon. This evolution has required our team to adapt swiftly and cultivate flexible relationships with suppliers, ensuring we effectively support sales and foster genuine partnerships. By collaborating closely with our technical sales team and partners, we are consistently focused on identifying the right solutions that ultimately benefit our customers, 2025 will be exciting!”
Moira Dicker, Senior Manager Service Delivery, who has been with the company for 17 years, speaks on what Zayo Europe’s new independence has meant for her and her team;
“An immediate feeling that we are now in charge of own destiny. Europe has always been nimble & adept but there was always a point when we had to pause & wait for permission from the U.S. office which halted our momentum.
There is a notable change in energy from the leadership team which is contagious. The Strategic Plan feels real and is focused on maxismising Europe’s abilities and has delegated some of the ideas & decisions down to the indiviual contributors that know from experience what will or wont work in reality. Instead of being a mere 10% contributor in a global market we are now a big noise in Europe and we can become even more distruptive to our competitors.”
Nick Davis, Deal Manager and Rising Star award winner 2024, had this to say;
“Rather than working in a global company, we now work in a European-focused company that can aim higher to please our local customers. I believe it’s super important in our industry to have a regional focus. We now have decisions made more quickly, less latency in our processes and the ability to take our destiny into our own hands. From a customer perspective I see this a massive improvement – they work with a Zayo that understands them, speaks their language and wants to invest not only money and time but also expertise into them, and encourage more of a partnership approach.
From a workforce perspective, I feel more empowered to make decisions and work with our pan-European verticals, and internal business partnering, and suddenly it is the people I see every day – or at least very often from our regional offices – who are growing this business together. It feels a bit like we are a well-backed start-up and I think that’s given us all a lot of excitement not only to really grow this business, but also to enjoy the brave new world we are a part of pioneering.”
Some things change, some remain the same
It’s clear 2024 was just the beginning of our transformation, but one thing that will never change is what’s in our DNA, and that’s not what goes on in our offices – it’s digging holes, splicing fibre, and all the engineering expertise it takes to design and build core telecommunications network infrastructure. Our legacy pedigree for building quality networks, differently.
Change is always necessary for growth but staying true to who you are is just as important.
As we welcome in the New Year, here’s a look back at you 2024 – one helluva year at Zayo Europe!