News & Events

Michael Lee will be stepping down as B4RN CEO from the 1st September 2024, after three and a half years in the role. Michael has taken this decision because he will be moving outside of the UK with his family as his wife starts a new experience working abroad.

The Board of Directors have appointed Tom Rigg as the new CEO. Tom has been involved with B4RN since it was first founded in 2012, and as COO he has worked closely alongside Michael since his appointment.

Michael will continue to support B4RN in a new role as Chief Strategy Officer, and he will also maintain his position on the Board of Directors.

B4RN is a Community Benefit Society, with a mission to deliver the best internet service in the country to the areas that are hardest to reach, working shoulder to shoulder with, and for, rural communities, to realise the enduring benefits of greater resilience and connectivity.

B4RN has delivered against this mission under Michael’s leadership, expanding its network to communities in Lancashire, Cumbria, Yorkshire, Cheshire, Norfolk, and Northumberland, whilst also contributing to, and helping to shape, the national conversation around deep rural connectivity.

Tom will be taking over as CEO at an exciting time, with B4RN recently announcing ambitious plans for further expansion, including an extensive programme of build across large areas of Northumberland and County Durham.

Chris Carr, Chair of the Board, said:

I speak for all the directors of B4RN in thanking Michael for everything he has achieved during his period as the Chief Executive of B4RN. He has been an outstanding CEO who has occupied the role with great distinction. Although his change of family circumstances means that Michael has decided to step down as CEO, the Board is delighted that he will continue his relationship with B4RN as its Chief Strategy Officer.

The Board is extraordinarily fortunate in having been able to appoint Tom Rigg as Michael’s successor as CEO. Tom has been involved with B4RN from its very earliest days. He has been its Chief Operating Officer since 2018 and he is well-known in the industry for the innovatory approach which he has spearheaded in that capacity. No-one knows more about the technical and engineering foundations which underpin the operations of the company, and the Board is very much looking forward to working with Tom as he continues with the implementation of B4RN’s plans for the future.

Michael Lee, outgoing CEO, said:

B4RN really is something special, and I am immensely proud of everything that we have achieved over the last three and a half years.

I’d like to take this opportunity to recognise the talented and dedicated staff, volunteers, contractors, shareholders, and landowners, who do truly astonishing things every single day, not for thanks or applause, but because of a deeply held belief in what B4RN is, and the benefits that we deliver. Thank you.

I joined B4RN not just at a critical point in its own growth journey, but also during a time of significant turbulence across the wider industry. I believe that not only have we successfully charted a course through this turbulence, enabling B4RN to thrive whilst staying true to its founding principles, but that, in addition, we have had a positive impact on the shape of the industry environment around us. In simple terms, I believe that the UK fibre landscape is a better place because B4RN is part of it.

I’m incredibly pleased that I will be handing over the CEO role to Tom Rigg, who has worked closely alongside me since I started at B4RN. Tom is deeply passionate about what we do, and he understands how B4RN works better than anybody – I have no doubt that he will bring his characteristic enthusiasm and insight to the role, and that he will take B4RN to new and exciting highs.

Tom Rigg, incoming CEO, said:

Firstly, I wish to congratulate Michael, his wife, and family in what will be an exciting new venture for them all. Michael and I have developed a strong and united leadership of B4RN over the past three and a half years, and as he takes up the role as Chief Strategy Officer, this partnership will only grow to serve B4RN well, both now, and into the future.

I am incredibly honoured and truly proud to take on the role of CEO for B4RN. My dedication to this role comes from an inherent desire to bring connectivity and associated support into deeply rural regions, witnessing the transformation difference digital inclusion can make to individuals, families, and communities.

Now is an exciting time for B4RN, having successfully delivered our 400Gbps HALO backbone network across the north of England, all our communities have access to next generation, low latency, high capacity, and resilient internet service. Our significant delivery plans in The North East see us take our sustainable service deeper into the rural countryside, connecting some of the most remote parts of the country who need it most.

I stand by our mission, and I look forward to continuing our work with all our communities as we deliver against it.