Career Journey: Phil Ash

We spoke to Phil Ash, Procurement and Cost Transformation Director at CityFibre, who has partnered with BIE over the past five years. In our discussion, we explored his career journey from joining telecoms at the height of the dot-com boom, through 21 years at BT, to taking on a pivotal role at CityFibre. After being made redundant, Phil transitioned into an interim position before moving permanently into his current role, where he has led the development and maturation of an initially immature procurement function. Phil also shared his insights on how modern procurement extends across operations, finance and IT, the impact of AI on the UK market, and his experience working with BIE as a trusted, long-term career partner.