Steve Smith named Zayo Group CEO as founder Dan Caruso becomes board director
Digital Colony and EQT, having acquired Zayo Group Holdings, Inc. earlier this year (see “Digital Colony, EQT to buy fiber-optic network services supplier Zayo”), have named Steve Smith, managing director of GI Partners and former CEO of Equinix, as Zayo’s CEO. He will replace Zayo founder Dan Caruso in the role, as Caruso becomes a board director.
Smith’s more than 30-year career in technology includes board of director and senior executive roles at such companies as F5 Networks, Hewlett-Packard, EDS, NetApp, and NEXTDC, in addition to his tenure at Equinix. He left Equinix for GI Partners in 2018.
“Steve’s track record successfully managing growing digital infrastructure businesses while maintaining high levels of operational reliability and excellence is the perfect fit for Zayo as it enters the next phase of its growth,” said Marc Ganzi, president and CEO of Colony Capital, Inc. (NYSE: CLNY) and CEO of Digital Colony. “Steve will have big shoes to fill. Dan built an amazing company in just over a decade and we look forward to benefiting from his contributions as a key member of our board of directors.”
Zayo offers a variety of fiber network related services, including dark fiber and wavelength services. It recently agreed to sell its zColo data center and colocation business to Databank (see “Zayo to sell zColo data center business to DataBank”).
“I’m excited to join Zayo as it begins its journey as a private company backed by two of the world’s largest infrastructure investors,” said Smith. “Dan and I have known one another and partnered together as Zayo and Equinix emerged as the global leaders in their respective digital infrastructure segments.”
“I am pleased to hand the Zayo baton to Steve, who I respect and have enjoyed working with over the years,” added Caruso.
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Stephen Hardy | Editorial Director and Associate Publisher, Lightwave
Stephen Hardy is editorial director and associate publisher of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report, part of the Lighting & Technology Group at Endeavor Business Media. Stephen is responsible for establishing and executing editorial strategy across the both brands’ websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products. He has covered the fiber-optics space for more than 20 years, and communications and technology for more than 35 years. During his tenure, Lightwave has received awards from Folio: and the American Society of Business Press Editors (ASBPE) for editorial excellence. Prior to joining Lightwave in 1997, Stephen worked for Telecommunications magazine and the Journal of Electronic Defense.
Stephen has moderated panels at numerous events, including the Optica Executive Forum, ECOC, and SCTE Cable-Tec Expo. He also is program director for the Lightwave Innovation Reviews and the Diamond Technology Reviews.
He has written numerous articles in all aspects of optical communications and fiber-optic networks, including fiber to the home (FTTH), PON, optical components, DWDM, fiber cables, packet optical transport, optical transceivers, lasers, fiber optic testing, and more.
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