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Management Team
CEO
Dr. Jonathan Smith
Chief Executive Officer

Jonathan brings to irix over 30 years of global telecommunications infrastructure building experience. His career began at British Telecoms (BT) in the 1990s and was heavily involved in subsea fibre deployments in the early 2000s. As fibre progressed into “last mile” access, he consulted with multiple operators globally, deploying FTTT and FTTH. He has also led multi-million-dollar network modernisation programmes across Indonesia, Philippines, and Myanmar.

Initially joining irix as Technical and Commercial Advisor in Jan 2021, he was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in January 2022. His leadership has seen the establishment of a strong team, comprising of a wealth of experience and youth, both local and foreign, which will be instrumental in furthering irix’s innovation, placing Sarawak and Borneo at the forefront of the future of telecommunications.

COO
Dmitriy Nikolaychik
Chief Operating Officer

Dimitry has over 20 years of Telco and ICT industry experience, with a professional footprint that spans the globe. He began his career in operations and maintenance in Belarus, later providing his expertise across Russia. He joined Azerbaijan’s MDC Ltd as Network Operations Director in 2006 and was involved with various projects in Caucasus, Central Asia, Asia and Africa. More recently, he led UE A1 (Unitary Enterprise A1), Belarus’ largest private telecom, ICT and content service provider’s digital transformation programme as Head of Cloud and ICT Infrastructure.

Among his notable international involvement were the launch of 3rd 2G/3G operator in Azerbaijan (Greenfield), construction of Core/RAN networks during their initial development phase in Congo & Sierra Leone, as well as the introduction of Green Power Supply solutions in Tajikistan to improve RAN availability.

Dimitry’s impressive experience and successes play a vital role in irix’s plans for development, particularly in establishing the fundamentals necessary for the realisation the company’s vision for Sarawak.

COO
CEO
Stephen John Stretch
Chief Commercial Officer

Steve Stretch joined irix in April 2022 as Chief Commercial Officer with a specific focus to oversee business growth through strategic initiatives in Sales and Product Development.

A telecommunications industry veteran with 30 years' worth of experience, his career started in the late 1980s at GEC Plessey Telecommunications in the United Kingdom selling System X, the first digital switching system adopted by BT. As the telecommunications industry entered a period of mega-mergers and alliances, his corporate journey saw him expanding his role and experiences in other various industries, from Global Enterprise solutions with BT & Concert Communications, world of subsea communications with FLAG Telecom, as well as TATA Communications where he assisted SNOs in South Africa and Nigeria, before refocusing on subsea communications in Brunei Darussalam as CEO of Brunei International Gateway.

Apart from being a strategic Sales & Marketing professional, Steve is also a passionate advocate in customer service, and ensures that customers’ needs are prioritized in all of irix’s activities.

COO
Dominick Siddle
Chief Marketing Officer

Dominick Siddle joined irix to spearhead its global marketing initiatives, as it moves to reach out to the region and beyond.

Following a successful career in publishing in England, he ventured to Malaysia having been given the opportunity to represent National Geographic and Condé Nast. He then also represented the global independent arbitrator of brands, Superbrands, helping companies develop their ideas into iconic brands. His marketing, media and branding experiences has been a constant growth as he oversaw and managed multiple projects, from idea conceptualisation and visualisation to execution. Dominick was also involved in the F&B and hospitality industries, managing a chain of global award-winning F&B outlets, and saw to the development of 2 luxury island resorts.

As irix’s growth accelerates, Dominick will be at the forefront of building and accelerating the organisation’s brand and communications as it steps onto the world stage.

COO
CFO
Chong Kim Soong
Chief Financial Officer

Chong Kim Soong is a Fellow Member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (FCCA) and Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA).

He has more than 16 years of experience in the accounting and finance profession. He started his career with various international accounting firms, before joining public listed companies in senior finance roles. Prior to joining irix, he was the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for Samaiden Group Berhad (Samaiden), where he was responsible to plan, manage and forecast the cashflows of the entire group.

Prior to joining Samaiden, he was the Senior Finance Manager of HSS Engineers Berhad (HEB) and AYER Holdings Berhad where he was responsible for the financial affairs of the group. During his employment with HEB, he was one of the members’ IPO Due Diligence Working Group who managed to achieve a successful listing of HEB on the ACE Market of Bursa Malaysa (Malaysia Stock Exchange) in August 2016 which subsequently transferred to the Main Market of Bursa Malaysia in September 2017.