Paul North to lead Partner division and drive channel growth

• Paul brings 19 years’ channel experience from senior roles at leading alt-nets and ISPs
• Appointment allows Stephen Warburton to focus exclusively on our Consumer Division

Today we have announced the appointment of Paul North as Managing Director of our Partner division, bringing fresh energy and focus to the channel, underlining our ambition to be the UK’s leading alt-net aggregator.

Paul takes over from Stephen Warburton, who has successfully run our Partner division for over 20 years, but more recently had responsibility for both our Partner and Consumer divisions. Stephen will now concentrate fully on our Consumer business, while Paul steps in to give the Partner division his complete focus.

Paul brings two decades of channel experience. He held senior leadership roles at Entanet, later acquired by CityFibre, before joining Giganet to help establish its channel presence. When Giganet’s wholesale arm became part of AllPoints Fibre in 2023, Paul played a key role in shaping the new business, building its partner programme from the ground up.

Known for his relationship-driven approach, Paul is enthusiastic about collaborating closely with partners to understand their business and support their growth.

Our founder and CEO Richard Tang, commented: “Paul’s arrival marks an exciting new chapter for our Partner division. He has a record for building successful wholesale businesses, but what really stands out is his passion for people and partners. That’s exactly what Zen is all about. With Paul at the helm, our partners can expect even greater focus, energy, and support as we move forward.”

Commenting on his new role, Paul North said: “Zen is a name I’ve admired since starting out in this industry 19 years ago. It has a reputation for innovation, service excellence and doing right by its people – values I share wholeheartedly. The channel is all about relationships, and it’s clear partners love working with Zen for its people, its network, and its support.

"With the industry entering one of its most exciting periods of change since the early days of broadband, and with Zen’s ambition to be the leading aggregator of alt-nets through The Fibre Hub, this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I’m excited to build on the great work already done and to collaborate with colleagues and partners to seize the opportunities ahead.”

Paul’s appointment signals Zen’s continued investment in its Consumer, Business and Partner divisions ensuring the business is ready to support customers and partners alike as the UK makes the switch to full fibre.

Stephen Warburton, now MD of Zen’s Consumer Division, said: “I’ve really enjoyed running our partner business over the last 20 years, but there is so much opportunity now, I think it’s right we dedicate an MD for that part of the business giving it the dedication it deserves. It also means I can focus my attention on the consumer arm of the business.”

Through our Partner division, Zen provides a complete wholesale portfolio from broadband and Ethernet to hosted voice, cloud communications and managed networking giving channel partners the choice, flexibility and support they need to grow. Backed by Zen’s independence, award-winning service and B Corp values, the division is uniquely positioned to help partners seize the full fibre opportunity.