Live Oak Fiber’s CEO and founder, Jody Craft, recently passed away. Craft led a company that has become an alternative provider serving mainly the Southeast U.S.
Under Craft's leadership, LiveOak Fiber made strides in building a fiber network, improving quality of life, and driving economic growth in the areas it serves.
The company said that the foundation Craft built will continue to guide our company’s growth and future direction.
“Jody’s passion for connecting communities and his belief in the power of reliable Internet as a catalyst for positive change will forever be part of LiveOak Fiber’s DNA,” said Steve Smith, Chief Revenue Officer and LiveOak co-founder.
LiveOak Fiber’s COO, Shane Schilling, will become the company’s acting CEO.
LiveOak Fiber's continued focus is expansion. As of May 2024, the provider had completed 50% of its Georgia and Florida network builds.
Since its founding as an alternative FTTH provider, Live Oak made progress in building out fiber services throughout Florida and Georgia. The provider has invested more than $200 million and constructed over 1,000 miles of fiber.
In September, LiveOak secured additional funding through a co-investment partnership between InfraRed Capital Partners and MEAG, the Asset Manager of Munich Reinsurance Company (“Munich Re”) and its wholly-owned direct and indirect subsidiaries (collectively, the “Munich Re Group”). This co-investment commitment has been granted to LiveOak for clients managed by MEAG.
The investment builds upon LiveOak’s recent success in securing $250 million in financing underwritten by J.P. Morgan. LiveOak will use this combined financial backing to accelerate its expansion plans.
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Sean Buckley
Sean is responsible for establishing and executing the editorial strategies of Lightwave and Broadband Technology Report across their websites, email newsletters, events, and other information products.