# Richard Pennington

> Richard Pennington is the Manchester-based co-founder and CEO of FourNet, established in 2005 with Frank Jennings, Mike Jervis and Steve Tyrrell. He has led its development from a communications specialist into a consulting, customer experience, AI, cybersecurity and managed services business. Following the October 2026 acquisition of SVL Business Solutions, the combined business reported more than 230 people, over 450 customers and revenue of around £65 million.

- **Role:** Co-founder and CEO at FourNet
- **Organizations:** FourNet
- **Nationality:** British
- **Education:** Staffordshire University
- **Known for:** Co-founded FourNet in 2005 and remains its CEO in 2026., Led FourNet through investment by YFM in 2017 and a majority investment by Palatine in 2021., FourNet was included in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 in 2020.

## Career timeline

- **2005** — Co-founded 4net Technologies with Frank Jennings, Mike Jervis and Steve Tyrrell, starting with one customer.
- **2017** — Led the company as managing director when YFM invested; Iain McKenzie joined as non-executive chairman.
- **2020** — Announced the rebrand from 4net Technologies to FourNet on the company’s fifteenth anniversary.
- **2021** — Continued as CEO after Palatine acquired a majority stake and YFM exited.
- **2022** — FourNet acquired infrastructure and security business C>Ways.
- **2023** — FourNet acquired Nowcomm in April and global network specialist 01T in November.
- **2025** — FourNet launched its IntellAIgent agentic AI platform in May.
- **2026** — FourNet acquired SVL Business Solutions on 15 October; the combined group reported revenue of around £65 million.

## Achievements

- Co-founded FourNet in 2005 and remains its CEO in 2026.
- Led FourNet through investment by YFM in 2017 and a majority investment by Palatine in 2021.
- FourNet was included in the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 in 2020.
- FourNet achieved Best Companies one-star recognition in 2020 and two-star recognition in 2021.
- Led a business that acquired specialist capabilities across security, networks and customer experience; SVL was its fifth acquisition since 2020.

## Latest updates

- **2026-10** — Announced the acquisition of SVL Business Solutions, creating a combined business of more than 230 people, over 450 customers and around £65 million in revenue.
- **2026-06** — Discussed public-sector service design, operational performance and responsible use of AI in an IT Europa interview.
- **2026-01** — Discussed FourNet’s move towards consulting and managed services, internal investment, sector expertise and growth in an IT Europa interview.
- **2025-12** — Commented on FourNet’s responsible-business report and its work on digital inclusion and cybercrime prevention.
- **2025-05** — FourNet launched IntellAIgent, an agentic AI platform for customer-service workflows.

## Links

- Website: https://fournet.co.uk/
- LinkedIn: https://uk.linkedin.com/in/ripennington
- Twitter/X: https://x.com/RMPenno

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/richard-pennington
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-22