Latest news with #Fyffe
Techday NZ
3 days ago
- Business
- Techday NZ
Twilio appoints Howard Fyffe as Director of Sales for ANZ
Twilio has announced the appointment of Howard Fyffe as Director of Sales for Australia and New Zealand (ANZ). Fyffe will oversee Twilio's Communications business in the ANZ region, leading a sales team tasked with supporting brands in delivering personalised digital engagement to customers. The remit for Fyffe includes fostering sales growth in the region and guiding operational priorities to support brands in strengthening their digital connections with customers. His responsibilities will encompass driving the expansion of Twilio's services in the ANZ market, as well as supporting existing clients in their engagement strategies. Fyffe brings more than 20 years of industry experience to the role, with expertise spanning AI, automation, data centre, hybrid cloud, and risk and compliance. During his career, he has held leadership roles at organisations such as xAmplify, where he served as Chief Revenue Officer, as well as multiple positions at Cisco Systems in Asia Pacific, Australia, and New York. Inclusion of prior appointments at VAST Data, Veritas, and Nutanix further highlights his breadth of experience in both enterprise sales and operations management. Commenting on the appointment, Robert Woolfrey, Vice President for Communications, Asia Pacific & Japan at Twilio said: "Howard is a proven enterprise leader with a strong track record of driving strategic growth in Australia and New Zealand. He joins Twilio at a pivotal time, as we double down on new business, account expansion, and operational excellence in ANZ. With his leadership, we'll accelerate our momentum and help even more customers build smarter, AI-powered customer experiences." Fyffe's appointment comes as Twilio intensifies its focus on business growth, account development, and operational strategy throughout the region. His leadership will include enabling high-performing teams to deliver digital solutions that assist brands in establishing and deepening customer relationships. On taking up the new post, Fyffe stated: "I'm thrilled to join Twilio to lead a dynamic and talented team focused on helping businesses across Australia and New Zealand strengthen their customer engagement. Twilio sits at the intersection of technology and human connection, helping organisations turn digital interactions into meaningful experiences. Throughout my career, I've always been passionate about using innovation to solve real customer challenges, and I look forward to contributing to the strong work the team is already doing to advance Twilio's mission." Fyffe's experience and perspective are expected to support Twilio as it seeks greater penetration in ANZ's digital engagement market. The company's strategy in the region is aimed at helping organisations leverage communications technology and data to optimise and personalise customer interactions across a range of applications, including sales, marketing, growth, and customer service. The appointment aligns with ongoing trends in customer engagement, where personalisation and digital transformation remain a focus for businesses seeking to maintain competitive advantage. Fyffe's leadership is anticipated to play a role in facilitating the adoption of digital and AI-powered solutions among Twilio's current and prospective clients in Australia and New Zealand. Twilio continues to operate across 180 countries, providing its customer engagement platform to a wide range of businesses and developers globally. Follow us on: Share on:
CNN
11-06-2025
- CNN
Remote Scottish lodge used to house foreign secret agents in WWII up for sale
A remote Scottish lodge used to keep foreign secret agents far away from trouble during World War II is now up for sale. Nestled deep in the Scottish Highlands, Inverlair Lodge was requisitioned by the Special Operations Executive (SOE), an espionage and sabotage organization Britain created during World War II, before transforming back into a family home – now on the market for offers over £1.35 million ($1.8 million). Surrounded by countryside and 17 miles (27 kilometers) from the town of Fort William, it is far from prying eyes. Known as 'Number 6 Special Workshop School,' the lodge was used to house foreign agents who 'had fallen by the wayside,' according to its former commander, Alfred Fyffe, who detailed his three-year tenure in interviews with London's Imperial War Museum in 2002. These were agents who had gone through initial training but, for whatever reason, could not be deployed, according to the 2008 book 'British Intelligence: Secrets, Spies and Sources,' by historians Edward Hampshire, Stephen Twigge and Graham Macklin. The agents were housed 'under surveillance, not under guard,' Fyffe stressed, adding that they were sent there 'to forget what they learned about our subversive business' because they had 'certain information which, if they were released outside the services, could be dangerous to this country.' Housing agents of different nationalities like this 'under one roof' was an 'experiment' said Fyffe. He was charged with occupying their time and set aside one room – the larder – to use as a cell if there was any trouble. 'If you have to use it, use it within reason,' his superiors told him. Fyffe kept the agents busy by sending them to salvage metal scattered all over the countryside and getting them to mend boots. Just three agents were there when he took over the lodge, one of them an Italian engineer who had been a lieutenant to the country's fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini, until they fell out and he fled to France, where he worked with the Communists. Before Fyffe arrived, the first two people housed there tried to run away, though he said he 'never had any trouble' – apart from a Dutchman who hit someone in the jaw and broke down the wall outside his office. Rudolf Hess, a top Nazi who secretly flew to the UK in 1941 as a self-appointed negotiator, was briefly held at the lodge, too, while he was being interrogated by intelligence officers, real estate agent Galbraith said, though Fyffe does not mention this. The SOE ceased to exist after World War II and Inverlair became derelict until it was renovated in the 1970s. Few traces of the lodge's history remain. Nowadays, it is a large, comfortable family home like many others in Scotland – many of its rooms have woodburning stoves, and its kitchen island is painted a jaunty yellow. There are four reception rooms, six bedrooms, outbuildings – including a separate two-bedroom cottage – and 30.88 acres of land. The property listing can be viewed here.
CNN
11-06-2025
- CNN
Remote Scottish lodge used to house foreign secret agents in WWII up for sale
A remote Scottish lodge used to keep foreign secret agents far away from trouble during World War II is now up for sale. Nestled deep in the Scottish Highlands, Inverlair Lodge was requisitioned by the Special Operations Executive (SOE), an espionage and sabotage organization Britain created during World War II, before transforming back into a family home – now on the market for offers over £1.35 million ($1.8 million). Surrounded by countryside and 17 miles (27 kilometers) from the town of Fort William, it is far from prying eyes. Known as 'Number 6 Special Workshop School,' the lodge was used to house foreign agents who 'had fallen by the wayside,' according to its former commander, Alfred Fyffe, who detailed his three-year tenure in interviews with London's Imperial War Museum in 2002. These were agents who had gone through initial training but, for whatever reason, could not be deployed, according to the 2008 book 'British Intelligence: Secrets, Spies and Sources,' by historians Edward Hampshire, Stephen Twigge and Graham Macklin. The agents were housed 'under surveillance, not under guard,' Fyffe stressed, adding that they were sent there 'to forget what they learned about our subversive business' because they had 'certain information which, if they were released outside the services, could be dangerous to this country.' Housing agents of different nationalities like this 'under one roof' was an 'experiment' said Fyffe. He was charged with occupying their time and set aside one room – the larder – to use as a cell if there was any trouble. 'If you have to use it, use it within reason,' his superiors told him. Fyffe kept the agents busy by sending them to salvage metal scattered all over the countryside and getting them to mend boots. Just three agents were there when he took over the lodge, one of them an Italian engineer who had been a lieutenant to the country's fascist dictator, Benito Mussolini, until they fell out and he fled to France, where he worked with the Communists. Before Fyffe arrived, the first two people housed there tried to run away, though he said he 'never had any trouble' – apart from a Dutchman who hit someone in the jaw and broke down the wall outside his office. Rudolf Hess, a top Nazi who secretly flew to the UK in 1941 as a self-appointed negotiator, was briefly held at the lodge, too, while he was being interrogated by intelligence officers, real estate agent Galbraith said, though Fyffe does not mention this. The SOE ceased to exist after World War II and Inverlair became derelict until it was renovated in the 1970s. Few traces of the lodge's history remain. Nowadays, it is a large, comfortable family home like many others in Scotland – many of its rooms have woodburning stoves, and its kitchen island is painted a jaunty yellow. There are four reception rooms, six bedrooms, outbuildings – including a separate two-bedroom cottage – and 30.88 acres of land. The property listing can be viewed here.
Yahoo
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
World War Two secret agents' house put up for sale
A Highland house where "troublesome" secret agents were kept busy during World War Two has been put up for sale. Inverlair Lodge was taken over in 1941 by the Special Operations Executive (SOE), an army of saboteurs and guerrilla fighters formed to fight behind enemy lines. Inverlair's residents were foreign nationals who had been unable to perform their duties but needed to be kept safe because of the dangerous secrets they knew about the Allied war effort. Supervised by British soldiers, the agents were kept occupied with a range of tasks including mending boots and salvaging scrap metal from the surrounding countryside. Estate agents Galbraith has put the 18th Century property on the market for offers over £1.3m. More stories from the Highlands and Islands News from the Highlands and Islands on BBC Sounds Six-bedroom Inverlair Lodge, near Tulloch, about 20 miles (32km) from Fort William, was chosen because of its remote location. During WW2 it was known as No. 6 Special Workshop School. In interviews with the Imperial War Museum, Dundee-born Alfred Fyffe told how he was put in charge of Inverlair for 30 months. He said the residents, who included Italians and Dutch, were supervised but not kept under armed guard and were even allowed to make trips into Fort William. Mr Fyffe described the lodge as an "experiment" with agents of different nationalities living under one roof, and working on tasks designed to distract them from the secrets they knew. One of their jobs was salvaging metal, including railway track, abandoned by British Aluminium which operated a smelter in Fort William. Inverlair Lodge and similar SOE properties are said to have inspired the plot to 1960s TV drama The Prisoner, which starred Patrick McGoohan. War-time prime minister Winston Churchill enthusiastically supported the formation of SOE, and ordered its agents to "set Europe ablaze". Its history was an inspiration for film director Guy Ritchie's 2024 action-comedy The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. SOE was disbanded after the war and Inverlair Lodge was vacated and fell into disrepair. It was restored in the 1970s. Lochaber was a key training area for Allied forces during WW2. Achnacarry Castle, the ancestral home of the chiefs of Clan Cameron and about 15 miles (24km) north east of Fort William, was used as commando training base. The elite troops were from Britain and the US as well as France, the Netherlands, Norway, former Czechoslovakia, Poland and Belgium.
