Mark Lewis recently joined Oriole Networks as Vice President Network Systems Engineering. Prior to the joining Oriole Networks, Mark led worldwide data centre system solution engineering for Altera, Intel’s Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs).
How were your first couple of weeks with Oriole Networks?
“It’s a breath of fresh air! It is so innovative, and the team is small enough so that you get to know everyone really quickly. The entire company is connected, and we get to meet as a full group once a month.
The other aspect is that it is very multi-disciplinary. I found myself looking at passive optical fibres on day two. Totally different stuff from what I had done before and being asked to contribute to that. You are asked to contribute to the whole instead of being compartmentalised which often happens in larger organisations and results in you getting further and further away from having real impact on real technology.
“There is a kind of energy that Oriole Networks has that is almost palpable and it’s exciting.”
Because of this, there is a kind of energy that Oriole Networks has that is almost palpable and it’s exciting. I have never been less bored. Even when I am in the shower or on my bicycle, I am thinking about optical fibres and optical networks, but in a good way. I am energized and enthused by it. Here is a group of people who want the same thing and really want to work together and help each other.
In this funding round, as we grow to 40 – 45, we will still manage to keep those ties but looking to the future, when the company doubles and doubles again, it will become increasingly challenging to have those regular get togethers with everyone. The multi-disciplinary impact for everyone will also change. But what is key, is that the company is now building a foundational culture of asking everyone to contribute, being open to it and even welcoming it and that will ensure that some of this initial feeling will carry over as we grow.”
Coming from a more corporate environment, what attracted you to Oriole Networks?
“The technology is 100% aligned to what I was going at Altera/Intel. The job at Altera was wonderful – really technically challenging and diverse, and I had the opportunity to grow massively, but the next step for me would have required a move to the US. And like I said before, you also get further and further way from making a real impact on the company beyond budget spreadsheets and processes. I’d been looking to join a start-up for a while already, but then not just any start-up but one that I could really believe in.
And I believe in Oriole Networks for a bunch of reasons. The technology promises to solve some really big problems for the world, specifically the power consumption in AI. AI is happening, we can’t stop it. When you hear that Google is commissioning their own nuclear power stations and that the climate footprint of a ChatGPT enquiry is 30 times worse than a Google search, it’s disastrous. And we are doing this all along with electric vehicles, heat pumps, you name it – the grid is just totally overloaded, and the sustainable energy sources are struggling and failing to keep up.
Even if you forget the climate aspect for just a bit, to totally realise the potential of technology, we must address energy consumption. I was really enthused by that. Not just the commercial opportunity, but the opportunity to make a real difference to something.
What I also liked is that James, George and our investors have the belief to build up more of a tech industry in the UK. That’s something that has been allowed to fall away by successive governments over the last 30 years or so. Both for high tech and start-ups, getting venture capital here and stimulating innovator is what is going to drive the growth the country needs. From the moment I came into contact with Oriole Networks, I wanted to see how I could join – it was a great match to my technical and business background as well as my personal view on things, so not a difficult decision at all when I was offered the opportunity.”
Anything you would like to share with people on why they should consider joining Oriole Networks?
“When I talk to people about joining Oriole Networks, I touch on all the points I mentioned already – changing the world, reduction in power and the fact that this is a company where you can make a direct impact. It’s also important to recognise that there is a certain amount of risk in joining a start-up and that you must take responsibility for managing your own work-life balance. That’s probably true of every job, but coming into a start-up, it’s even more important. Anyone coming in is going to see the mountain of work that needs to be done. It’s not very high pressure yet, but clearly there is a lot to do. Working some extra hours is fine because it energizes but this is not a six-month gig but something that you should expect will take five to six years. If you are going to skip vacations and work 70 – 80 hours a week, it’s just not sustainable in the long run.
The other aspect is change – you need be comfortable with change, fully embrace it, even love it because there is going to be a lot of it.
But what I will also add is that really has been and continues to be great fun!! That’s something I had been missing for a while. You get to work with great people who are passionate about what we are doing as a collective in a quite nice location. Initially I was put off by the location (I work out of the London office), but the office is in a GREAT location. Kudos to a start-up for securing a location where you can feel the energy and the buzz of the city. And the other great thing is the balance of being able to go in a couple of times a week and not having to do the ridiculousness of spending a lot to time and money to get in every day.”