Interview: Neil Smith, Chief Information Officer, KTL

We’re delighted to introduce our newly promoted Chief Information Officer, Neil Smith. We caught up with him to learn more about his journey into IT and his career with KTL.

1.    What first sparked your interest in technology in the early days?

From a very early age, I always had an interest in how things work. In one of my early career roles as an Electrical Services Engineer (pre-KTL), I was tasked with overseeing the installation, commissioning, and testing of various electrical and technical systems in a hospital refurbishment. This highlighted my interest in understanding how every element of each of those systems worked from both an electrical/wiring perspective, and a software and control perspective.

2.          Can you walk us through your education, career path with KTL— what were those early days like?

I trained as an Electrical Services Engineer in Dublin Institute of Technology and worked on commercial, industrial and domestic construction projects for a couple of years.

In 2009, I started with KTL as an Electrical and Technical Engineer, hired to assist with the expanding electrical requirements on the Telecoms projects and to help control overall telecoms installation quality. I was initially on the road visiting install teams and in some cases, on the tools to help get sites over the line. This gave me a great understanding of the technical systems and a huge respect for what our Field Engineers do day-to-day.

3.          How did your role evolve over the years at KTL to becoming CIO?

As KTL grew, I moved on to become Technical Manager and was involved in the setup of our Belgian office and first UK office, as well as managing the quality aspect of the contracts we were fulfilling from those locations.

I then moved into an IT Manager role to undertake an internal project to upgrade KTL’s IT systems to Office365 to help with expansion and allow our data to be accessed from anywhere.

Then in 2018, I took on another internal project to implement our ERP system and moved to a new role of Business Implementation Manager.

From there as things expanded further, I was promoted to Director of IT, continuing to improve our ERP system, drive KTL’s digital transformation, manage our cyber security risk and implement the ISO 27001 Information Security standard.

Now, in 2025 I have been promoted to Chief Information Officer, tasked with preparing KTL for the forecasted growth up to 2030 and beyond.

4.          What were some of the early challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?

I have had a varied list of roles in KTL, so the challenges have been equally varied. In the early days I would have become easily overwhelmed with certain challenges.

But over the years, I have learned to break down each challenge into manageable parts, bring in key resources and subject matter experts, and deliver the solution.

5.          What key moments or highlights stand out on your journey?

Our ERP system implementation is the biggest highlight, as I feel this is the area my team and I have had the most impact on KTL. A colleague recently advised how certain tools we’ve built have made their job much easier to manage. A nice reminder, that our efforts are well received.

Secondly, achieving our ISO 27001 accreditation. Another fantastic team effort by our IT and  cyber security team and a key milestone in KTL’s cyber security journey.

6.          Who were some of your mentors or influences along the way?

The KTL senior management team and company directors have always been a great source of learning for me as well as support throughout the years. And I was also fortunate enough to get an external mentor assigned to help coach me to step up into the Director of IT role.

7.          What lessons did you learn from mentors, peers, or even tough moments along the way?

Resilience is important. Keeping sight of your goals when things get tough is imperative to deliver the required solution, whatever that may be.

And, forecasting what the future may bring allows you to be prepared for potential problems, before they occur.

8.          How did you/KTL adapt to changing business landscapes or technological shifts over the years?

I have always been in a position that I’m aware of the impending business change and in some cases, leading that change, so I’ve been fortunate in that regard.

And I try to educate myself as much as possible on each change so I can shape the solution as best as possible for KTL and its staff.

9.          What’s your vision for the IT as you progress?

Our ERP system goal is to make solutions more accessible and return information faster with more in-depth intelligence on our data, to help us make more informed decisions.

And from the IT and cyber security perspective, we aim to continue to evolve ahead of emerging threats, to ensure the integrity and availability of KTL data and core infrastructure.

AI is of course on the agenda, and we already have various elements of robotic process automation in place. We have an OCR solution coming to assist with our increasing transaction volume, and we’re looking at our own LLM platform to help data and information accessibility.

10.       Looking back, what are you most proud of in your journey?

The ERP implementation. It has had such a positive impact on KTL and I’m proud to be part of the team that delivered it.

11.       Outside of work, what keeps you inspired or re-energised?

My family keep me inspired. I have a growing family, and my aim is always to provide as best I can for them. But, to keep energised, a couple of hours on my mountain bike in the local hills lets me disconnect from tech and clear my head!!!

12.       If you could go back to your first day at KTL, what advice would you give yourself?

Hard work gets recognised, and putting yourself forward for a challenge will be supported!

To find out more about KTL careers visit our https://www.ktl.ie/careers