Interview

Close Up & Personal

Telephony
Comms Business Magazine gets close up and personal with Stuart Griffiths, CEO at True Telecom

True Telecom has this year had its most successful year to date, largely to do with the acquisition of Select Calls, one of the UK’s fastest growing telecoms companies.

True to its name, True Telecom provides tailored telecoms solutions for business and residential customers, with an honest pricing structure, designed to give the customer excellent service at some of the lowest rates on the market.

The multi-million pound turnover company is focused on fast growth and has ambitious plans for the future. CEO Stuart Griffiths is an expert in high growth companies and knows how to generate new long-term business. He also recognises the huge part his staff play in this process and invests heavily in their progression, currently developing an online training system and soon to be putting staff through NVQs, which is contributing to high retention levels.

Although True undoubtedly leads on mobile, broadband and voice solutions, Griffiths is certain that the future for his company and in fact the industry lies with hosted solutions.

“The majority of businesses retain telecoms resources in house and they are starting to realise how expensive and time consuming this can be. There’s also the issue of technological advancement to consider. Many don’t think twice about updating their computer hardware and software, at the same time neglecting their telephone systems. Hosted systems are perfect in these cases, providing superior functionality and a flexible framework that can be built around the needs of our business customers as they continue to grow.

We anticipated this trend back in 2011 and since then we’ve been working hard to ensure we have the resources in place to support customers wishing to move away from a traditional in-house telecoms set-up in favour of a hosted system instead.

Quite simply, it’s the way forward. I believe businesses who fail to address this will find themselves falling far behind competitors.”

Based in Maidstone in Kent, True currently employs over 50 staff and is looking to more than double this in offices across the South East in the coming months.

Married? Yes

Lives where? Kingshill, West Malling, Kent

Kids? 2 year old daughter

What is your favourite car?  Bentley Continental GT

What do you drive? Bentley Continental GT

4X4’s Chelsea tractors? Ha ha, I’ll let my wife answer that one

What really gets your goat in business? Too much typing but not enough talking

What’s the best advice you’ve ever been given? You can be and do anything you want, you just need to believe its possible

And the worst? Give up!

Favourite Film? The Pursuit Of Happiness/ A Beautiful Mind

Who is/was the best James Bond? Connery

Last CD/DVD bought? Twilight for the wife last week

Sport? Golf

Favourite team? Europe in the Ryder cup

What’s the best thing you’ve bought this year? A snow shovel

What have you wasted money on? Petrol

If you could pick anyone to go to dinner with who would it be and why? All the world leaders to right a few wrongs in this world

What could you not live without? My smartphone

Who’s been your greatest inspiration? My Father

Do you have a hero? Every single person that has made something from nothing in the challenging world we live in

If it all went belly up tomorrow, what would you do? Learn from my mistakes and start again

What would you do if you were invisible? Relax on the sofa whilst my wife is doing the housework

If you could be anyone for a day, who would it be? My 2 year old daughter, her life seems so simple

Your best blag ever? I couldn’t possibly give that one away

What is on your iPod? Bit of a mix of current top ten’s and some 80’s hits