The newly established board of Crown Fibre Holdings, the government-owned company that will oversee the rollout of Ultra Fast Broadband (UFB), meets for the first time this week.

Chairman Simon Allen says they face a tight timeframe for the rollout - the Invitation To Participate (ITP) states all tenders to partner with the government in a Local Fibre Company must be in by the end of January 2010.

The first task for the Board will be to appoint a Chief Executive, but while the recruitment process is well underway Allen was giving nothing away to Telecommunications Review. He won’t say if the candidate is international or national, whether they will be based in Wellington or Auckland, nor when the position will be an announced.

Allen was attending the KANZ conference (he’s pictured here on the far right talking to Internet NZ president Frank March and Hans Frauenlob from NZ Trade and Enterprise). The word from industry figures spoken to by TR is that Allen is an excellent choice and is leading an impressive selection of Board members.

Clearly Allen’s proven financial expertise is seen as critical to ensuring the success of the UFB roll out. The technical expertise will be drawn from the executive, as the Board oversees the transition of the workload from the MED to the newly formed company.

Allen is a former Chair of the NZX and founded the investment bank in 1988 which eventually became ABN Amro Craigs. He says that in addition to his executive career he’s made it a personal goal to work for not-for-profit organisations, and has been involved in projects as diverse as, Snowvision, the Auckland Philharmonia and Auckland Healthcare.

So what attracted him to the role of Chair of Crown Fibre Holdings? “I really do believe that the economy, whether it be New Zealand or any other country, has to look to the future and the future is ultra fast broadband. It’s an incredibly important infrastructural component to the future productivity of all countries.”