Sam Ayad is an Australian businessman and entrepreneur active in the telecommunications industry.Sam's business interests are primarily in technology, in particular software where he has brought to market innovative products to improve the efficiency of telecommunications for large organisations. He has extensive experience in building both onshore & offshore teams to help realise his business objectives.In the field of data analytics, Sam is Chief Executive Officer of Smartbill Pty Ltd. Established in 2006, Smartbill is an advanced analytics company specialising in telecommunication procurement services, benchmarking, and optimisation. Smartbill has offices in Sydney, Australia and in Hangzhou, China, close to Alibaba headquarters. In 2008 Sam signed a memorandum of understanding with the Chinese Central government in Beijing with the International Corporation Centre (ICC) of National Development Reform Commission of the People's Republic of China, to assist in Smartbill’s further growth in China.In the field of business process software, Sam is Chair and Co-Founder of Bluewater Control Pty Ltd. The Bluewater SaaS (software-as-a-service) platform helps business, enterprise and government clients manage their mobility fleets and telecom expenses. Bluewater sold 200,000 software licences in the Australian marketplace in its first two years.Prior to starting Smartbill and Bluewater, Sam was also founder and managing director of Telestar Communications, which he started in 1998 and in which he remains a director. Away from work, Sam is an Australian national champion in the sport of game fishing, holding three Australian records in the sport. Sam is a regular contributor to community and charity events and is regarded as a mentor amongst his peers.Sam holds a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of New South Wales. He lives in Sydney with his wife Julie and their three children.