"CTO in Focus" Miguel Berniz, Gibfibre
- Kevin Jones
- 9 minutes ago
- 5 min read
Miguel Berniz’s career mirrors the story of the internet itself—spanning the early pioneering days of connectivity through today’s hyper-regulated, ultra-fast fibre landscape. As Head of Technology at Gibfibre, Berniz’s approach blends meticulous infrastructure planning with agile, real-world pragmatism shaped by his unique experiences across ISPs, gambling tech, and network engineering. In this edition of Gaming Eminence’s CTO in Focus, Berniz reflects candidly on his evolution from perfectionist system builder to holistic leader, why compliance must guide rather than hinder innovation, and how his lifelong passion for tech shapes the future-proofing strategies underpinning Gibraltar’s digital infrastructure.
Gaming Eminence: You’ve navigated a career that spans both core infrastructure and client-facing tech—from earlier roles in network engineering through to your current position at the helm of Gibfibre’s technology strategy. Looking back, how have those formative years shaped your instincts as a leader? And what core beliefs now anchor your view of what a Head of Technology should really be accountable for?
Miguel Berniz: "I’ve been intertwined with the internet since its infancy, and my journey in the ISP world began in 1994. By a twist of fate, or perhaps perfect timing, I had the honour of working on the project that delivered Gibraltar’s first permanent wired connection to the internet three decades ago. Since that pioneering milestone, I’ve navigated roles within ISPs, where networking is the very heartbeat of the business, as well as in other industries where connectivity is just one service among many.
In particular, networking in the gambling industry is a commodity, while other Technology aspects are core. So it was interesting to see it from that perspective. During this time, it became clear to me that the industry was going through something of a technology revolution and that it was an organisation’s ability to keep pace that ultimately determined its success. This is an understanding that has stayed with me to this day. This is why I firmly believe the Head of Technology needs to be able to embrace change quickly and identify which technologies are going to be the ones that shape the future. It’s about being brave enough to adopt these technologies early so that you don’t lose positions in the race against your rivals. This is especially important in the current climate, where the scope and pace of change have never been greater. Get your infrastructure wrong against this ever-evolving landscape, and it can take many years to catch up again."
Gaming Eminence: Across your roles, from hands-on technical builds to high-level strategic oversight, certain fingerprints inevitably emerge. What would you say is distinctively you in the way technology is now being shaped at Gibfibre—whether in how you design systems, set direction, or build engineering culture?
MB: "This is actually my second stint at Gibfibre, having first worked for the business between 2015 and 2019. During this time, I was a perfectionist and would agonise over the best design for a system and identifying the absolute best technologies and solutions to build it. There is nothing wrong with this approach, but following my time in the gambling industry, I came to understand there are other things that are just as important, if not more, than the design and technology itself. Technology is not an end-goal, rather it’s a tool to improve the quality and reliability of a service being provided. In dynamic industries such as online gambling, it needs to be delivered quickly, seamlessly and compliantly, too. So now I take a more holistic approach to designing and delivering systems and solutions"
Gaming Eminence: If we rewind to a decision in your career—perhaps during your transition from network operations into broader architectural or leadership roles—what’s one moment where your thinking clearly diverged from the typical playbook? What drove that decision, and what did it teach you about your own technical philosophy?
MB: "I’ve been involved in technology and the internet for a very long time now – I was one of the first adopters of the internet back in 1993 when no one really knew what it was. For me, it was a passion and a hobby as well as a career. Because I was one of the first to see it’s potential, I have been lucky enough to work for some incredible companies over the years, including a local Spanish ISP provider that was acquired by the biggest ISP provider in the world, PSI Net – at that time, PSI Net had a presence in more than 80 countries and employed more than 20,000 people across the globe. But following the acquisition, I found my career going down a different path – I went from technical to pre-sales, sales and ultimately on to business development. But this was taking me further away from my passion and what I love to be involved with day to day, and that’s the technology itself. So, I decided to re-launch my hands-on tech career by recertifying myself and only taking roles that put me at the coalface of technology for several years. This ultimately brought me to Gibfibre and the role that I have today, where I still get my hands dirty, and I wouldn’t have it any other way."
Gaming Eminence: You've worked in environments where compliance, reliability, and regulatory oversight aren’t optional—they're baked into the very architecture. How do you personally navigate the creative tension between that kind of operational discipline and the need to keep pushing the edge of innovation? Do you approach that balance as a constraint, or as a design opportunity in itself?
MB: "I don’t see compliance as a design opportunity – in my experience, it’s always more of a constraint. But you need to understand there are regulations and that they are there for a reason, and then just work with them. The gaming industry is hyper-regulated, and this ultimately shapes many of the technology decisions that organisations make. This can be a good thing, especially when it comes to areas such as cybersecurity, as regulations force organisations to meet the highest possible standards. And at a time when data theft, cyber-attacks, hacks and scams are at an all-time high, this can be the difference between falling victim to an attack and not."
Gaming Eminence: Fibre infrastructure and connectivity tech aren’t often described as “sexy”—but there’s a quiet revolution happening in how these systems underpin modern digital life. From your vantage point, what excites you most about where this sector is heading? What intellectual challenges are you most drawn to right now—and how are you helping your teams stay agile in that evolution?
MB: "Bill Gates once said that an individual would need no more than 640k of RAM on any given computer, ever. But look how wrong he turned out to be – the latest iPhone has 256GB of memory. This is an industry that takes giant leaps forward at a rapid pace, and we need to ensure that the infrastructure we are building and deploying today is ready for what’s to come, or, at least, be flexible enough to adapt to it. Thankfully, bandwidth is no longer an issue, but this opens the door to improvements to things like video quality, with 8K already available. This is why it’s so important to look ahead and future-proof as much as possible."
Gaming Eminence: Beyond systems and roadmaps, how do you stay sharp? Are there routines, tools, or even non-technical sources of inspiration that shape how you lead or think more clearly?
MB: "I’m a self-confessed workaholic and spend a lot of time making sure that I’m on top of everything. But I know I need to balance this off with how I spend my time outside of the office, and for me, I enjoy nothing more than a game of poker. It helps to keep my mind sharp, and I love the math, strategy, and human engagement it provides. It’s actually taught me to analyse absolutely everything, even the smallest detail, before making a decision, even when under tremendous pressure."
