Board of Directors

Mark is a non-executive director with a strong track record in technology and transformation. In addition to joining the Aferian board as non-executive chair in January 2022, Mark also chairs Oxford Technical Solutions (satellite-based inertial navigation systems), and Cappfinity (Talent Solutions). Previously he was non-executive chair of Senseye (AI-powered Predictive Maintenance solutions for industry) and Romax Technology (drivetrain simulation software), and spent more than 10 years as a Non-Executive director of Kofax plc where he helped to transform the business from a reseller of scanners to a global software company which was then sold to Lexmark for over $1Bn.  Mark has also served as CEO of Image Metrics plc, COO of Brainpower NV (now Bloomberg) and Managing Director (UK) for Dun & Bradstreet Software. He has a degree in Electronics and an MBA.

Donald joined Aferian as a non-executive director in April 2010, becoming Chief Operating Officer in September of the same year and subsequently Chief Executive Officer in December 2011. Previously, he was Senior Vice President, Asia Pacific, for DHL, the global market leader in the logistics industry. Donald is an internationally-minded executive who has spent the majority of his career in Asia and the US, holding a variety of senior management positions in high growth technology, outsourcing and services companies including Fujitsu, BG Group and Celestica. Donald is an engineering graduate from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow and commenced his career in the UK with ICL. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply Chain (MCIPS).

Mark joined Aferian in August 2016 and has significant experience in the leadership of public company finance teams. Prior to joining the Group, Mark was Chief Financial Officer at Kape Plc (née Crossrider Plc) where he formed a key part of the team which successfully raised $75 million as part of its IPO on AIM in September 2014. Prior to this, Mark served as Chief Financial Officer of FFastFill plc, a provider of technology solutions to the financial derivatives trading industry. In addition, Mark has ten years of audit experience, gained within the Technology Media and Telecommunications practice of Deloitte, where he served from 2000 to 2010.

Steve is a seasoned media technology executive who has launched numerous innovative solutions to the global marketplace. Prior to joining the Aferian board in January 2021, he was President of Verimatrix, a leading provider of revenue security solutions to the Pay TV and on-line video industry worldwide. In addition to his role with Aferian, he is a strategic advisor to Think Analytics, a specialist in content discovery and targeted advertising solutions for streaming media companies. His past posts include COO of MediaSec Technologies LLC, a pioneer and leader in the field of digital watermarking, and COO of Argus Systems Group, a provider of Internet server security software. Steve received a Lifetime Achievement award at the 2020 VideoTech Innovation Awards. In August 2022, Steve was appointed to the Executive Board as President of the Americas.

Bruce joined the Aferian board in August 2022 and chairs the Audit Committee. A qualified FCA, Bruce has accumulated extensive board-level experience over the past 30+ years. He is currently Chairman of Threadless Closures Ltd, a packaging company focused on the international beverage market, and Crateight Ltd which develops reusable packaging solutions for the movement and storage of high value artworks. He has previously been Chairman of Dataform Print Management Ltd and held non-executive directorships with Princeton Consulting Ltd, ApaTech Ltd and Kofax plc, where he served on the board for 18 years. He also held the post of CFO for both DiscoverIE Group plc (IT components), and semiconductor and software design company Imagination Technologies plc. Bruce has a strong interest in education. He is Chairman of Holyport College and has previously been Chairman of two Charitable Trusts in the sector. He was awarded an MBE for services to education in January 2021.

Max is a managing partner and co-founder of Kestrel Partners, an investment management company specialising in business-critical software companies. He joined the Aferian Plc Board on 4 April 2023. Max also holds board positions at companies including CentralNIC plc (domain name registry and related services), IQGeo plc (Geospatial productivity & collaboration software for the telecoms industry) and Trailight Ltd (cloud-based compliance technology) and has previously been a board member of various public companies including Gresham Technologies plc. He has been advising and investing in quoted and unquoted UK smaller companies since 1998 and prior to founding Kestrel Partners was a managing director of KBC Peel Hunt.

Allen joined the Aferian board in August 2023. Allen is a technical leader with a proven track record of delivering innovative, reliable, scalable products and services. He is currently Chief Executive Officer at MediaKind, a leading provider of global media technology, having led its research and development organisation for two years as Chief Technology Officer. Allen has been at the forefront of pivotal technology change in the media industry for over 25 years, pioneering major transformations including VoIP, IP Video, Streaming Media and Cloud. Since joining MediaKind in October 2019, Allen has helped advance the company’s teams in the industrialisation of broadcast-quality internet streaming and reshaped its portfolio to enable full-service solutions. Under his technology leadership, MediaKind’s 11-time Emmy-winning Engineering team has successfully broken down the barriers of live video delivery.