The former chief executive of telcos StarHub and M1, Mr Neil Montefiore, who was known for his candid nature and foresight, has died. He was 67.

The Straits Times understands the Briton died of a heart attack while in London last Saturday.

Friends and former colleagues remember him as being always pleasant and approachable, even though he was a top executive.

Ms Karen Choi, who was Mr Montefiore's personal assistant for 16 years from 1997, told ST: "Working with Neil was an absolute delight as he placed great trust and faith in his staff. The work relationship and personal friendship I had with him have been a source of enrichment and enjoyment for me."

She added: "I will miss him."

Mr Robert Wiener, president of The Tanglin Club, said Mr Montefiore, a regular there, worked hard, but always had time for his family and friends. "Neil was always great fun - we would have drinks and barbecues at his house."

Mr Steve Puckett, former president of The British Chamber of Commerce Singapore, where Mr Montefiore had served as a board member, said: "Neil had a stature that bridged the Singapore and British business communities so well."

Mr Montefiore moved to Singapore from Hong Kong in 1996 to head MobileOne, which would later be known as M1.

Competing against Singtel then, M1 managed to gain a 10 per cent market share in the first 30 days of its launch under his leadership, thanks to aggressive promotions and more free talk-time.

In 2010, he left M1 to join StarHub as its chief executive, and by the time he retired in 2013, had helped grow the company's share price by more than 80 per cent.

Mr Montefiore was known for his straight-talking manner. For example, in 2000, he disputed Singtel Mobile's claim that it was the first in the country to allow users to send an SMS "anywhere in the world", insisting that M1 had done it first.

An engineer by training, he also showed foresight in predicting trends. In 2000, long before the advent of smart TVs and the ubiquitous smartphone, he was quoted in an interview as saying: "In a few years' time, there will be three windows into the Internet - the personal computer, the television set and the wireless device. And that's how we will arrange our lives."

Beyond his work, Mr Montefiore also made the news for a lucky escape from the 2004 tsunami while on a family vacation on his birthday in Thailand.

They were diving 8km off Phi Phi island on Dec 26, 2004, when the killer tsunami struck. His family survived as they had been underwater when the waves hit the coast.

Mr Montefiore is survived by his wife Rosie and their six children, who are aged between 34 and 41.