Coworking with David Joosten

Coworking is a weekly segment where we spotlight Emerging Tech Brew readers who work with emerging technologies. Click here if you’d like a chance to be featured.

How would you describe your job to someone who doesn’t work in tech?

As President and CEO of Vodafone US Inc., I lead our overall representation in the Americas region, where we’re not a household name, unlike our strong brand recognition throughout Europe. We’re recognized as one [of] the leading telco providers, and it’s my job to drive conversations with our multinational customers on 5G and tech migration, helping them to evolve their technology to better support their businesses.

What’s your favorite emerging tech project you’ve worked on?

I’ve been really immersed in mobile private networks (MPN), exploring how they’re revolutionizing the way organizations are connecting with data in a smarter, more optimized way. Vodafone Business had the opportunity to partner with Ford Motor to set up an MPN for EV production at its Dunton Technical Centre, near London. We paired the facility with another site in Cambridge using 5G MPN so both places could work together to perform complex processes, coordinating both the machines and computing power in real time.

Looking ahead, there are a number of future applications the Ford plant could explore, from untethered robots and automated guided vehicles that tackle repetitive tasks to AI systems that monitor and run predictive maintenance.

What emerging tech are you most optimistic about? Least? And why?

At the risk of sounding like a broken record, my answer, once again, goes back to MPN. Specifically, I’m most excited to see how MPN and 5G continue to revolutionize the healthcare industry…Conversely, residential 5G for the everyday consumer is still not as prominent as people would expect and I’m curious to see if and how it evolves in the coming years.