West Lothian's Calnex hires one of most influential women in UK tech as director: Hearts' Ann Budge retires

Calnex Solutions, the West Lothian telecoms testing business, has appointed one of the most influential women in UK technology as a director.

Helen Kelisky, who is currently managing director of Google Cloud in the UK and Ireland, becomes a non-executive director of the company with immediate effect. Linlithgow-based Calnex said she brought more than 30 years’ of technology sales leadership experience and a track record of driving top line growth, leading national and international businesses.

Kelisky has been recognised in the 100 Most Influential Women in UK Tech listings and currently sits on the board of Women in Telecommunications and Technology, a non-profit networking group focused on education and enhancing women’s careers. Following 13 years on the Calnex board, Hearts chairwoman Ann Budge is to retire as a non-executive director with effect from February 28. She was an early-stage investor in the company and was pivotal in bringing the Discovery Investment Fund syndicate as an investor when the group raised seed investment in 2007.

Stephen Davidson, chairman of Calnex, said: “We are excited to welcome Helen to the board. Her experience across the cloud and data centre world will undoubtedly be of immense value to Calnex as we exploit the growth in the testing market, with the need for greater efficiency and performance in data centre operations. On behalf of [founder and chief executive] Tommy Cook and the rest of the Board, I would like to thank Ann for the valuable role she has played in Calnex’s growth journey, helping to establish a solid platform to support the group’s financial and strategic ambitions.”