Broadband and optical movers and shakers: CTIA taps former FCC chair Ajit Pai as president and CEO; Intel names Lip-Bu Tan as CEO
The broadband and optical industry witnessed shifts as several companies made vital management changes in their top ranks.
Conterra promotes Gossett to CFO
Conterra, a provider of fiber network-based services to telecommunication carriers, school districts, education, and commercial customers, has promoted Mark Gossett to CFO. He brings over 18 years of corporate and public accounting and finance experience across several industries, primarily focusing on telecommunications. Gossett has been with Conterra since October 2018, serving in various leadership roles with increasing responsibilities, including VP of Financial Planning and Analysis, Vice President and Controller, and, most recently, Conterra's Interim CFO.
CTIA taps former FCC chair Ajit Pai as president and CEO
CTIA, the wireless industry association, has named former FCC chairman Ajit Pai as its new President and Chief Executive Officer. Pai, who will take his position officially on April 1, joins CTIA from Searchlight Capital Partners, a global private investment firm. He will replace Meredith Attwell Baker, who announced her retirement last December and has served in the role since 2014. Before joining Searchlight Capital Partners in 2021, Pai served in senior leadership roles in the Federal Communications Commission for almost a decade.
President Donald Trump designated him as Chairman of the FCC in 2017, where he advanced significant initiatives to help close the digital divide, promote U.S. leadership in 5G, encourage innovation, and safeguard consumers and national security. Previously, Pai served as a Commissioner at the FCC, appointed by President Barack Obama in 2012. Earlier in his career, Pai served in key positions at the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Senate and as a partner in the law firm of Jenner & Block. Pai graduated with honors from Harvard University and the University of Chicago Law School, where he served as an editor of the University of Chicago Law Review.
Intel names Lip-Bu Tan as CEO
Intel has tapped Lip-Bu Tan, a technology executive with deep semiconductor industry experience, as CEO as part of the company's broader turnaround effort. He succeeds interim co-CEOs David Zinsner and Michelle (MJ) Johnston Holthaus. Tan will also rejoin the Intel board of directors after stepping down in August 2024. Zinsner will remain executive vice president and chief financial officer, and Johnston Holthaus will remain CEO of Intel Products. Frank D. Yeary, who took on the role of interim executive chair of the board during the search for a new CEO, will revert to being the independent chair of the board upon Tan becoming CEO.
Tan’s appointment is pivotal for the semiconductor company, which has seen its share of challenges in recent years. Last December, Intel forced out former CEO Pat Gelsinger because reports from CNBC and other sources indicated that confidence in his ability to turn around the company was dwindling. He comes to the position with over 20 years of semiconductor and software experience and deep relationships across Intel’s ecosystem. Earlier, he served as CEO of Cadence Design Systems from 2009 to 2021, where he led the company's reinvention and drove a cultural transformation centered on customer-centric innovation.
Render Networks taps IBM and Nokia veteran Rose to be CEO
Render Networks has named IBM and Nokia executive Stephen Rose its new CEO. A 25-year telecom industry veteran, Rose previously held executive roles with IBM and Nobel Prize-winning Nokia Bell Labs. At IBM, Rose was initially brought on to grow the global telecom industry practice and, shortly thereafter, the giant’s global industry organization, driving multibillion-dollar revenue growth. Rose was the operating partner at Bell Labs Consulting and a Nokia Bell Labs Executive Team member.
Spectrum promotes Dardis to VP of Spectrum Business unit
Spectrum has promoted Keith Dardis to Executive Vice President of Spectrum Business, the Company's new business operation. Spectrum Business combines Charter's legacy SMB and Enterprise groups and serves commercial customers of all sizes, from local small businesses to mid-market and large-scale companies. Dardis will oversee all sales and business operations, including customer service, product, human resources, and business planning for Spectrum Business, as well as the execution of its Customer Commitment for businesses. He most recently led the sales and business division for the same operation.
A 30-year industry veteran, Dardis has served as SVP for Spectrum Community Solutions, Spectrum's multi-dwelling unit (MDU) business, since 2021. He has also held various residential and business direct and strategic channel sales roles at the Company. Before joining Spectrum in 2015, he held several sales leadership roles at Sprint (now T-Mobile), including Vice President of Northeast Business, and he was also Head of U.S. Sales at Bluewater Information Convergence. He holds a bachelor's degree in finance from Villanova University.
If you have an executive at your company who has joined or been promoted to a new position, contact Sean Buckley, Editor in Chief of Lightwave+BTR, at [email protected].
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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.