About Us
What we do
The BillMonitor service was developed as a price comparison tool for all UK mobile users. We use advanced statistics, developed by our team of Oxford mathematicians, to find the best available mobile plan for every one of our individual customers. BillMonitor continuously tracks the market, keeping up to date on the thousands of tariffs from UK mobile operators. We match this information with each customer’s usage and recommend the best deal available to them.
Our service is available both as a one-off Manual Assessment and as Online Billing Assessment, depending on your preference. We analyse historical usage patterns to predict future usage and keep you updated on the money you could save as the networks change their prices.
Our technology, unlike that of many price comparison sites, was developed specifically for mobile users. We spend all of our time focusing on mobile to ensure our service is the most up to date and comprehensive mobile money saving service available.
Our History
BillMonitor’s technology is based on research funded by an R&D grant from the Department of Trade and Industry. Our founder, Stelios Koundouros, realised this technology could be used to quickly and accurately assess all the options available in the confusing UK mobile market, saving users time and money.
Our People
Stelios Koundouros / Director and Founder
Stelios has led the company’s efforts since 2005. He holds a PhD in mathematics from Cambridge University and has carried out research at the Mathematical Institute at Oxford.
stelios ‘at’ optimorlabs.com
Max Alexander / Director
Max was most recently MD of New Ventures and Strategy at Trinity Mirror and prior to that headed Mviva and TalkTalk for Carphone Warehouse. He started his career as a consultant at McKinsey & Co and is a (barely) qualified barrister.
Robin Klein / Director
Robin is co-founder of The Accelerator Group (TAG), an active investor in early-stage technology companies. TAG numbers amongst its investments: LoveFilm, Stardoll, Moo, Zoopla, Wonga and many others. Stelios started talking to Robin about backing Optimor/BillMonitor back in the summer of 2007.
Robin has a Masters Degree in Engineering – he graduated when computers were the size of small buildings.
Scientific Advisory Board
Professor Chris Holmes / Science Advisor
Chris helps direct mathematical research. He is a Professor with the department of statistics, Oxford University. Chris’ research interest lies in the field of machine learning and pattern analysis via probabilistic data modeling and the use of subjective probability theory as a unified framework for coherent inference.
Dr Nicolai Meinshausen / Science Advisor
Nicolai helps direct mathematical research. He is a University Lecturer, department of statistics, Oxford University. Nicolai’s research specialty comprises sparse high-dimensional data, Machine learning, Multiple testing and Monte Carlo methods for decision problems, central research themes on predictive algorithms.
Product Development
John Hornbaker / Product Director
John is a hands-on product management consultant who has an impact on product strategy, user experience, marketing tactics, partner management, analytics, and much more. He has more than 15 years experience in software product management and development, from leading product teams for early stage start-ups to coaching and mentoring Agile/Scrum teams for enterprise companies. He holds a BA from Princeton University.
Mac Chapman / Software Engineer
Mac is responsible for the creation of a Modeling Language and Data Framework supporting dynamic capture and description of the market data required for our analytical engines. He holds an MEng in Computer Science from Southampton University.
Ben Jeffery / Software Engineer and Data Analyst
Ben develops our core search and comparison engines – ensuring you get quick, accurate and informative search results. He holds an MPhys in Physics from the University of Bath and is finishing up his DPhil in Particle Physics at the University of Oxford.
Steve Anderson / Software Engineer
Steve is responsible for the extraction of complex data sets from online billing providers and organising these in to a homogeneous format. He holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Warwick.
Łukasz Korecki / Web Developer
Łukasz is responsible for developing the billmonitor.com website which is the frontend for our comparison engines and user-facing parts of our system. He likes coffee and is a graduate of Computer Science at the University of Kazimierz Wielki in Bydgoszcz.
Marketing and Communications
Rebecca Jackson / Marketing Manager
Rebecca is responsible for you hearing about us. Prior to working on BillMonitor, Rebecca was a consultant analyst for AMG. She has worked as a researcher and copywriter for Several World and The Daily Mail, and she is a co-founder at WeLoveFancyDress.com. Rebecca holds a BA in Philosophy and History of Art from Trinity College, Dublin.
