Our Advisory Board

Ian Skiggs

Strategic Board Advisor

Ian Skiggs brings a wealth of international leadership experience to the GTS Advisory Board. A former Chief Engineer in the Royal Navy, Ian has since held senior roles across aerospace, defence, energy, automotive, communications, healthcare, and technology sectors.

With expertise spanning fractional C-suite support, private equity portfolio management, M&A, and sustainability advisory services, Ian has led complex cross-border acquisitions and post-acquisition integrations valued in the hundreds of millions. He is a Chartered Director and Fellow of the Institute of Directors, and his achievements have been recognised with multiple UK Queen’s Awards for Innovation and Growth.

At GTS, Ian provides strategic insight on growth, governance, and value creation, helping to shape our future direction and strengthen our global impact.

Sergey Gugkaev

Strategic Board Advisor

Sergey Gugkaev is a prominent figure in the space industry with professional focus on commercial space, space sustainability, international cooperation, in-orbit services, satellites and launchers.

He started his professional career in Swiss corporate finance ecosystem, holding several positions with increasing responsibilities.

As the Chief Executive Officer of Sea Launch, a multinational satellite launch US-Russian-Ukrainian-Norwegian consortium, Sergey successfully guided the group through a pivotal post-restructuring phase, leading the company to execute five prosperous launches and a successful sale of the business to a new investor.

Following that, in his capacity of the Chief Commercial Officer of ClearSpace Sergey oversaw business development and commercial strategy of the company, working in close collaboration with private and institutional partners, promoting sustainable and responsible behaviour in space.

Sergey’s academic credentials include an MBA in Management of Technology from the distinguished Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and a Master’s degree in Law from Moscow State University.

Sebastian Sheppard

Strategic Board Advisor

Sebastian is a senior leader within the world’s most competitive high-performance technical environment: Formula 1. With over 20 years of leadership experience accumulated across diverse, high-performance technical sectors, including aerospace, cyber security, defence, data science, and telecoms, Seb brings practical, high-impact insights on leadership, resilience, and motivation to the application of businesses and leaders.

His leadership skills were forged in high-pressure environments, starting as a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy, where he was a pilot flying anti-submarine helicopters. He also worked with the Spanish & Chilean Navies.

Recently, Seb led over 150 engineers at Alpine F1, a role he carried out for over six and a half years. He led the technical team responsible for the time-critical design and engineering of F1 race cars, fostering a world-class, high-performing team of specialists in all aspects of the car. Drawing on this demanding environment, Seb champions the philosophy that high performance is achieved by consistently getting the best out of motivated people, not merely assembling experts. His philosophy is about empowering and motivating people cultivating a culture of psychological safety. He defines resilience as a mindset, stressing the ability to transform inevitable setbacks into valuable learning opportunities.

Seb is a visiting lecturer at prestigious institutions including the Universities of Oxford, Edinburgh & Melbourne, delivering insights on Leadership, Motivation, and Driving High Performance Cultures.

Andrew Podd

Strategic Board Advisor

Andrew is an elite financial services leader with over three decades of board-level experience across London and New York. A proven expert in risk, finance, strategy, and transformation, he has operated at the highest levels of the industry — including serving as Chief Risk Officer (SMF4) of a major UK insurer and Interim CFO of a UK challenger bank.

Having led major change and transformation programmes at organisations such as RSA Insurance, Barclays, RBS, GE Capital, and the UK regulator, Andrew brings unrivalled insight into how global financial institutions operate and evolve. His experience spans Insurance, Banking, Asset Management and Wealth, underpinned by deep technical expertise in governance, risk, and operational excellence.

A Chartered Accountant and Fellow of the ICAEW, Andrew trained with Price Waterhouse (now PwC) and went on to build and lead high-performing teams across both industry and consulting — including senior roles with two of the Big 4. His track record includes delivering complex regulatory, strategic, and outsourcing frameworks, advising boards, and managing key stakeholder relationships with global regulators.

Widely recognised as a trusted industry voice and strategic adviser, Andrew brings a unique combination of leadership, integrity, and commercial acumen — making him an invaluable partner in driving transformation and sustainable growth.

Edward Camacho Guerra

Strategic Board Advisor

Based in Venezuela, Edward Camacho Guerra is a dynamic CEO and SAP Architect who brings over two decades of leadership and hands-on technical expertise to the Utilities sector. Renowned for driving digital transformation and enterprise-scale SAP programs, Edward has led some of the industry’s most complex S/4HANA migrations and IS-U implementations — consistently delivering innovation, efficiency, and measurable results.

His strategic mindset and deep Utilities domain knowledge (electricity and gas) enable him to bridge the gap between business and technology, creating solutions that not only modernize operations but also future-proof organisations. From Greenfield S/4HANA rollouts and SAP BTP automation to advanced analytics and cloud integration, Edward’s work redefines how Utilities operate in a digital-first world.

Now partnering with GTS Group, Edward brings a proven track record of transformation leadership, technical excellence, and commercial insight — helping clients harness SAP technology to achieve smarter, faster, and more sustainable growth.

Manuel Cabrales Lozano

Strategic Board Advisor

SAP & PwC Executive | Consulting Leader

Manuel Cabrales is an experienced SAP executive with over 25 years leading consulting, delivery, and transformation programs across Latin America. He has held senior roles at SAP, PwC, and Hi Tech Consultores, building high-performing teams and delivering large-scale SAP implementations.

As Director of SAP Consulting at PwC Colombia and SAP Director, Manuel is recognized for his deep SAP expertise, strategic leadership, and ability to align technology with business goals to drive measurable results.

Richard Smith

Strategic Board Advisor

Richard is a seasoned Chief Financial Officer with over 30 years of expertise in driving growth and transformation, delivering significant value to defence and infrastructure organisations. His notable roles include leadership positions at BAA Plc (rail infrastructure and operations), Leonardo Helicopters, Raytheon UK & Canada, and the Ministry of Defence’s submarine division.

Recently, Richard has transitioned into the defence SME sector, where he focuses on enhancing operational effectiveness and efficiency while guiding organisations through complex defence regulations to achieve successful outcomes.

Currently, Richard serves as a Non-Executive Director for two defence companies, including a public limited company, and as a part-time interim CFO for:

1. A rapidly growing software training company.
2. A prominent marine ship repair and construction company.

In addition to his corporate roles, Richard holds several honorary positions, including trustee for the Union Jack Club, a charity supporting veterans. With over three years of experience at KPMG, Richard provides practical and reliable business advice to help organisations thrive. He is excited to collaborate with the GTS Group, supporting their expansion into the defence sector.

Balazs Berki

Strategic Board Advisor

Balazs is an international commercial and marketing leader with more than two decades of experience across public transport, rail, commercial vehicles, industrial technology, supply-chain solutions, financial self-service technologies, and consultancy. He specialises in technology-led safety, data-driven fleet intelligence, and AI-enabled operational improvement, working with transport organisations and industry partners to enhance safety, performance, and service quality.

He has held senior global responsibilities across marketing, sales, and business development, helping scale advanced active-safety technologies and predictive analytics used in Vision Zero strategies worldwide. His expertise includes international market positioning, partner-ecosystem development, and guiding the introduction of innovation to deliver measurable improvements in safety, reliability, and efficiency.

Balazs plays an active role in leading public-transport associations (UITP, APTA, CPT, ITxPT), contributing to global committees and working groups focused on IT, telecommunications, bus operations, and safety innovation. He also delivers professional training worldwide through UITP Academy, supporting transport leaders in adopting AI effectively and responsibly.

An economist with an MBA, he is based in the United Kingdom with his family.