Meet the European Team
Christopher Britton
Managing Director
Christopher David Britton is the Managing Director of Hughes Network Systems Europe, the sales and operating organisation for the European market of Hughes Network Systems, LLC, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Ltd. Chris has full Profit and Loss responsibilities, including day-to-day management of the company, sales, operations, finance, legal and HR functions. He spearheads the company’s drive to maximise its strengths in market-leading technologies and quality of service support within existing and emerging European markets with key accounts such as the UK National Lottery, BP and Avanti. Alongside these responsibilities, Chris is heading up the deployment of EchoStar Mobile, formerly known as Solaris, who are launching EchoStar 21 which will provide S Band coverage across Europe.
Prior to joining Hughes Chris founded the specialist network integration provider, ETT in 1998. ETT was focused on building value-added WANs for large multinational companies. The company functioned from offices in London, Düsseldorf, Paris, New York and New Delhi with operations in over 50 countries. Previously Chris was Sales and Marketing Director for TMI, the international arm of Telecom Italia.
Chris has a strong long-term track record in telecommunications having also worked at AT&T and having started his career at BT.
Chris O’Dell
Vice President Sales and Marketing
Chris O’Dell is Vice President of Sales & Marketing of Hughes Network Systems Europe, the sales and operating organisation for the European market of Hughes Network Systems, LLC., a subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation. He has particular responsibility for driving growth within existing and emerging European markets.
Chris joined Hughes Europe in July 2011. Previously he spent six years at global telecoms provider, Huawei Technologies, latterly as UK Sales Director, Fixed Line Service Providers. His early career included three years in Nortel Research & Development, before moving on to the parent, Nortel Networks where he held a number of positions in both the carrier and enterprise divisions, including Pre-Sales Engineering Manager, Northern Europe Technical Sales Manager and, finally, EMEA Business Development Manager. Chris holds a degree, BEng Hons in Electrical and Electronic Engineering with Management from Bradford University.
Richard Acton
Vice President of Service Delivery
Richard Acton is the Vice President of Service Delivery at Hughes Network Systems Limited where he is responsible for Project Management, the Service Desk and Field Service functions.
Richard previously worked at NTL: Business as a Senior Programme Manager delivering high value wide area network and voice services in numerous sectors, notably, a £35M project for Cambridgeshire County Council WAN connecting all Schools and Community Centres across Cambridgeshire. He is a Member of the Association of Project Management and is certified in ITIL Foundation and ITIL Offerings and Agreements.
Richard holds a Master’s Degree in Engineering Quality Improvement from Bradford University.
Michael Dromnitzki
Vice President of Network Operations
Michael Dromnitzki is Vice President Network Operations of Hughes Network Systems Europe, the sales and operating organisation for the European market of Hughes Network Systems, LLC. He has overall responsibility for the European Network Operations Centre, Hub and Network Engineering and the internal IT.
Michael joined Hughes Europe in 1997, initially as Network Management Centre Operator. Previously, he worked for the Federal Defence Force in Germany, bringing with him 12 years’ specialist telecommunications experience.
Hannah Evans
Head of Legal for Hughes Network Systems Europe and EchoStar
Hannah joins us after more than four years at CityFibre Limited in Telecoms, where she worked on the rollout of the FTTP gigabit network infrastructure throughout England as part of a £4bn investment plan.
Prior to this, Hannah held a secondee position at Network Rail, during her time at the private law firm Dentons LLP. Hannah trained at a city law firm before moving to an in-house role and is also a qualified Notary Public.
Marcelo Navarro
Head of Business Support Services
Marcelo Navarro serves as the Head of Business Support Services at Hughes Network Systems, where he directs operations and supervises Procurement, Supply Chain, and Quality for the European region. With a career spanning more than 25 years, Marcelo has cultivated extensive expertise across diverse industries, including Automotive, Telecommunications, and FMCG.
Throughout his career, Marcelo has undertaken various pivotal roles, from orchestrating complex plant start-ups to spearheading transformative projects and overseeing business restructuring efforts. His contributions have consistently centred on enhancing customer service, streamlining operations, and bolstering supplier quality standards.
Marcelo's academic background further complements his professional achievements, holding an MBA from Universidade de São Paulo and a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Universidade Estadual de Campinas. Additionally, his commitment to continuous improvement is evidenced by his participation in specialised Lean Manufacturing programmes in Japan and Germany.
Deborah Biggs
Head of Human Resources
Deborah Biggs is Head of Human Resources for Hughes Europe. Within this role, Deborah focuses on supporting the operations in the UK, Germany and Italy, and oversees HR-related aspects for the other European Echostar entities. Whilst working as a member of the Senior Management team she defines HR strategy and policy to meet the objectives of the business.
Having been a member of the Hughes family for more than twenty years, she has overseen many wide-ranging and varied activities, including supporting merger and acquisition activity within Europe, and outside region where required, including TUPE, harmonising terms, and establishing new entities, planning and executing company restructuring and resourcing plans, including manpower-planning, employee resourcing and recruitment, career and succession-planning, 'right-skilling' and retention.
As a Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), she is a generalist with more than twenty years experience in Human Resources in the telecommunications, hi-tech and IT sectors within the UK and Europe.
Deborah holds a degree in English from University College London and a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) with a specialism in International Business.
Troy Truman
Head of Military, Defence and Government
Troy is Head of Defence and Government at Hughes Network Systems Europe and leads the European Defence and Government Systems business activities. He is currently responsible for the go-to-market strategy, infrastructure investment, and sales operations of the new defence and government business. Troy joined Hughes Europe in January 2024.
Troy has over ten years of international defence & government industry experience gained from senior sales and strategy roles in OEMs, system integrators, consultancy services, and component providers. He has a proven track record of exceeding sales targets in US private equity and large international defence corporations. He has worked in various product areas and solutions, including communications, avionics, and, most recently, unmanned systems.
Before his industry career, Troy served as a Communications Specialist in the Royal Navy.