Mike Harris (serial entrepreneur)
Encyclopedia
Mike Harris was founding CEO of Firstdirect, CEO Mercury Communications
1991–94 and founding CEO of Egg Banking plc
.
Mike is the co-founder of semantic web company Garlik https://www.garlik.com/index.php in 2005 with ex egg CIO Tom Ilube. Garlik is the only company in the world to have the inventor of the World Wide Web
Tim Berners-Lee
on its advisory board.
Author of Find your Lightbulb http://www.findyourlightbulb.com/ published by John Wiley & Sons in 2008.
Mike Harris' personal blog can be found at: http://www.findyourlightbulb.com/mike-harris/blog.html
entrepreneur
at Midland bank
in the UK (now HSBC
). Having left Midland in 1986 to join technology company Space-Time Systems he returned in 1988 and led the development and launch of Firstdirect – a Midland Subsidiary which was the world's first major telephone bank. It was launched in 1989 with Harris as CEO.
In September 1991 he became Chief Executive of Mercury Communications
(the first competitor to British Telecom in the UK) and Chairman of the mobile operator –Mercury One to One, (now operating as T-Mobile
). Mercury Communications was the first Telco in the world to provide integrated competition (local and long distance) to an established former monopoly
. During Harris's tenure Mercury's turnover grew from £1bn pa to over £1.6bn and a consumer brand was established with over 4m consumers joining the Mercury service. The Mercury Consumer business was placed in a 51:49 JV with Bell Cable Media in 1997 and the JV sold to NTL
for $10bn in 2000.
In 1995 Harris moved on to the position of founding CEO of Prudential Banking plc and then the CEO of its successor, Egg – the first major player in internet banking in the UK and for several years the largest internet bank in the world.
Egg went from start up to a billion pound public company in 2 years when it floated on the London Stock Exchange
in July 2000 at a value of £1.3bn .Harris retired as CEO of Egg in January 2001 but continued to serve on the Board as Vice Chairman until 2005. Egg was sold to Citi Group in 2007 for $1.2bn
Harris became Chairman of Garlik in 2005. Garlik has offices in Richmond (UK) and New York
and distributes an identity defense product known as Datapatrol through banks, insurance companies and broadband providers. By June 2008 the company had raised $18m funding from its founders and UK venture firms 3i
and DH Ventures.
Mercury Communications
Mercury Communications was a national telephone company in the United Kingdom. The company was formed in 1981 as a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless to challenge the monopoly of British Telecom which was privatised in 1984...
1991–94 and founding CEO of Egg Banking plc
Egg Banking plc
Egg Banking plc is a British internet bank owned by Citigroup, with headquarters in Derby and London, England. Egg was born out of Prudential's initial banking arm , that had been established in 1996...
.
Mike is the co-founder of semantic web company Garlik https://www.garlik.com/index.php in 2005 with ex egg CIO Tom Ilube. Garlik is the only company in the world to have the inventor of the World Wide Web
World Wide Web
The World Wide Web is a system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet...
Tim Berners-Lee
Tim Berners-Lee
Sir Timothy John "Tim" Berners-Lee, , also known as "TimBL", is a British computer scientist, MIT professor and the inventor of the World Wide Web...
on its advisory board.
Author of Find your Lightbulb http://www.findyourlightbulb.com/ published by John Wiley & Sons in 2008.
Mike Harris' personal blog can be found at: http://www.findyourlightbulb.com/mike-harris/blog.html
entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
Biography
Mike Harris spent the first 15 years of his career in ITInformation technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
at Midland bank
Midland Bank
Midland Bank Plc was one of the Big Four banking groups in the United Kingdom for most of the 20th century. It is now part of HSBC. The bank was founded as the Birmingham and Midland Bank in Union Street, Birmingham, England in August 1836...
in the UK (now HSBC
HSBC
HSBC Holdings plc is a global banking and financial services company headquartered in Canary Wharf, London, United Kingdom. it is the world's second-largest banking and financial services group and second-largest public company according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine...
). Having left Midland in 1986 to join technology company Space-Time Systems he returned in 1988 and led the development and launch of Firstdirect – a Midland Subsidiary which was the world's first major telephone bank. It was launched in 1989 with Harris as CEO.
In September 1991 he became Chief Executive of Mercury Communications
Mercury Communications
Mercury Communications was a national telephone company in the United Kingdom. The company was formed in 1981 as a subsidiary of Cable & Wireless to challenge the monopoly of British Telecom which was privatised in 1984...
(the first competitor to British Telecom in the UK) and Chairman of the mobile operator –Mercury One to One, (now operating as T-Mobile
T-Mobile
T-Mobile International AG is a German-based holding company for Deutsche Telekom AG's various mobile communications subsidiaries outside Germany. Based in Bonn, Germany, its subsidiaries operate GSM and UMTS-based cellular networks in Europe, the United States, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
). Mercury Communications was the first Telco in the world to provide integrated competition (local and long distance) to an established former monopoly
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
. During Harris's tenure Mercury's turnover grew from £1bn pa to over £1.6bn and a consumer brand was established with over 4m consumers joining the Mercury service. The Mercury Consumer business was placed in a 51:49 JV with Bell Cable Media in 1997 and the JV sold to NTL
NTL
NTL Incorporated, was a U.S.-listed British company, that became the first "quadruple-play" media-company in the UK, bringing together television, Internet, mobile phone and fixed-line telephone services. While NTL has its headquarters in New York City, the company's activities focus heavily on...
for $10bn in 2000.
In 1995 Harris moved on to the position of founding CEO of Prudential Banking plc and then the CEO of its successor, Egg – the first major player in internet banking in the UK and for several years the largest internet bank in the world.
Egg went from start up to a billion pound public company in 2 years when it floated on the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
in July 2000 at a value of £1.3bn .Harris retired as CEO of Egg in January 2001 but continued to serve on the Board as Vice Chairman until 2005. Egg was sold to Citi Group in 2007 for $1.2bn
Harris became Chairman of Garlik in 2005. Garlik has offices in Richmond (UK) and New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
and distributes an identity defense product known as Datapatrol through banks, insurance companies and broadband providers. By June 2008 the company had raised $18m funding from its founders and UK venture firms 3i
3i
3i Group plc is a multinational private equity and venture capital company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It has offices in 13 countries across Asia, Europe and the Americas and had total assets under management of £12.7 billion as at 31 March 2011...
and DH Ventures.