PROFILE
IT’ S EASIER TO BE A CRITIC THAN A CREATOR”
Vision – Peter is excited that the UK’ s first neural edge data centre will be built on Preston Farm in Stockton.
It was also how he met his wife, Louise. He recalls:“ I interviewed her for an analyst’ s job. She got the job but didn’ t like my style at first – it was a very aggressive business style. But I interviewed her because it said on her CV that she ran a karaoke machine in Tenerife. And I thought,‘ Well, she can’ t be dull’.”
The couple have two daughters – Leila, 23, is currently working in Madrid after graduating from Edinburgh, and Elise, 21, is studying dance in Manchester.“ They’ re amazing” he says, proudly.
Professionally, though, Latos is Peter’ s new baby – and he’ s hugely enthused by it.
As a senior executive at Comcast, and subsequently NTL and Virgin Media, Peter was a driving force behind the strategic expansion of broadband and cable television technologies.
After Virgin, he set up a consultancy, advising a range of businesses.“ It was enjoyable,” he says,“ But I much prefer leading with a team than suggesting ideas to someone else’ s team. This feels just like the Comcast days again.
“ Leading” nowadays is as president of a US semiconductor business and as CEO of Latos where, in another link to those Comcast days, he’ s again working with the founder of communications network contractor Map Group( UK), Mike Carlin – whose first firm, Map Electricals, won the contract to install Comcast in all apartment blocks across Teesside.
Peter said:“ Map was one of my first install partners and that’ s where I met Mike. Map probably installed and built more fibre optic network than any business in the UK. Now I’ m back together with a bunch of guys who were on that original journey.
“ And investors like the fact we’ ve known each other for more than 20 years and are still doing it. It’ s the same pioneering thing but with a new technology.
“ I’ m proud to be working alongside Latos MD Andy Collin too. He and I are a great fit together.”
Since Mike founded Latos in 2021, aiming to create neural edge data centres across the UK, funds for a flagship two-building Stockton centre – around £ 108m – have been secured.
“ Stockton’ s paid for,” says Peter.“ The hoardings are up and we’ re on a 15-month countdown for that to be live, which is great – the first one in the UK of its
16 | Tees Business