Andrew Karney
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Andrew Karney | ||
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| Born | Andrew Lumsdaine Karney May 24, 1942 Dovercourt, Essex, UK |
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| Education | Rugby School, Trinity College, Cambridge |
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| Occupation | Chartered Enginner, Businessman | |
| Spouse | Beryl Karney | |
| Children | 1 | |
| Ethnicity | English | |
| Notable credit(s) | Tiri, Chairman | |
| Official website | ||
Andrew Karney is one of six children. His grandfather was Bishop Arthur Karney, the first bishop of Johannesburg who was later succeeded by Archbishop Desmond Tutu winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. His great Grandfather was John Wigham Richardson the great Victorian shipbuilder and founder of Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson shipbuilders on Tyneside.
He started his career working for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency - UNRWA in Lebanon and Gaza in 1964 and 1965. He was honoured by the United Nations Secretary-General, U Thant in 1969.
He worked as a development engineer in a team headed by the celebrated British engineer, Tommy Flowers, who earlier had designed Colossus, the first digital, programmable, electronic computer at Bletchley Park to help break the German Enigma machine codes and the more complex Lorenz Cipher during the Second World War. He played an important role in the development of the first fully electronic digital telephone exchange, which was developed as an Anglo French collaboration and was installed in Moorgate in the City of London. He also worked as a senior scientist at the central research laboratories of the UK General Electric Company on the development of high speed digital transmission systems and electronic telephone exchanges. During this time he filed several significant international patents.
In 1973 he joined Logica, the international systems company. He was project director of the European project based in Paris to bring the Internet to Europe in 1975 - 1976. The Organisation Européenne pour la Recherche Nucléaire, commonly known as CERN, actively participated in the project and it was there that the World Wide Web was initiated by Tim Berners-Lee in 1989. In 1984 he became a main board director responsible for the telecommunications and media sectors as well as operations in Asia.
On leaving Logica he became chairman of Language Line Ltd, a language resources company, an independent director of the Guardian Media Group, Baronsmead VCT3 and a number of high technology companies. He is chairman of the trustees of the international NGO Tiri which seeks practical solutions to making integrity work in governments, civil society and business.
He is a chartered engineer, fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology, a Freeman of the City of London, a fellow of the Royal Society for the encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce and a member of Chatham House. He is also an expert on the Middle East.
He is married to the former prima ballerina Beryl Goldwyn and they have one son Peter Karney born in 1972. He lives in Credenhill, Herefordshire.
