Basil Cousins - Director

Basil Cousins is co-founder and Director of OpenForum Europe (OFE). Over the past two years, he has led the ODF campaign in Europe and is responsible for developing the role of OFE in the UK. A Secretary to the OFE Executive Council and OFE Board, he also provides the secretariat for the highly successful OFE SIGs, Basil has had 40 years experience in the ICT industry.

As DP Manager of Costain, he set up and ran Computel, an ICL based timesharing bureau owned by Costain and Mowlem. As Head of Software Engineering, ICL ASD he was instrumental in the foundation of X/Open and the publication in June 1984 of the first portability guide based on AT&T Unix System V. He then headed up Olivetti UK Public Relations until 1994 when as a member of the CBI London Region Council, he launched LondonLInk in association with Nomura, Lloyds of London, Bird & Bird, Citigroup and others. He is Honorary Secretary of the Ethical Panel of the Information Technologists Panel and Honorary Treasurer of the Real Time Club