VISION
I work hard to be the best at any role I find myself in. I believe that showing up with a list of problems is not valuable...the value lies in showing up with solutions. There is great joy to be had in finishing projects ahead of schedule and under budget.
I love a good challenge!
2023 - Present
CEO
Advisory Board Member-Ciena
Pivot-Tech Development, Inc.
Pivot-Tech Development (Pivot) was formed in February 2023 to assist local, county, and state governments leverage the federal government’s once-in-a-generation infrastructure investment to provide broadband services to their unserved and underserved residents. We believe if the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (“IIJA”) funds are well-leveraged and effectively implemented, then communities can be transformed.
Brought together three long-time friends, each with a careers worth of valuable knowledge and contacts in the industry, I put together a consortium of companies such as Ciena, Aecon, Municipal Capital Management, and several others to design, build, and operate a fiber network from an end-to-end perspective. Leading these highly qualified companies in the business development process and later the operations of the networks we build is an amazing process.
2023 to 2024
SVP BD and Pre-sale Engineering
Advisory Board Member
FLEXNODE, Inc.
Given the dynamic nature of data processing needs, I was approached by FLEXNODE to drive North American market entry and pre-sales engineering. This interesting data center alternative covers many of the issues facing edge compute today: Modular design means the data center can adapt to its surroundings, immersion cooling in vertical racks adds power reduction and hardware lifetime extension. There are many new use cases coming soon for edge compute processes including AI, autonomous drones, remote surgeries, FinTech and many others. Two years ago we started talking about "MEC" and I said "show me the business case...today the business cases are many and diverse.
Mobility Network, Inc.
Mobility Network leverages my experience as an MVNO operator (see Toto Communications below), to create a Mobile Virtual Network Enabler company. I am joined by three associates who have worked with me for many years and understand the complex environment of building and running a profitable MVNO. This company provides not only an "on ramp" for the cable industry, but also provides the experience to bring added revenue to fiber builds as a cellular overlay strategy and 5G accomodation
2022 to Present
CEO
2020 - Present
VP US Operations
MOBIA Technology Innovations
AS VP of US Operations, I design the go to market strategy for a 600+ employee company based in Halifax, Nove Scotia.
First duties were to develop and end to end solution for 5G and broadband deployments and ongoing O&M. Built partnering group including Ciena, VMware, Black & Veatch, Amphenol, Crown Castle, Dish and many others. Included also a private equity company to finance projects with a $200M USD committment.
Designed and implemented marketing and BD process in concert with partner teams based upon core competencies. Designed 5G overlay onto fiber build designs as well as existing cable plant to augment MVNO and move straight into MNO operations for added profitability.
Determined specifications for tools required to streamline the entire process from BD to O&M. Brought RFP response team together as true marketing partners with consolidated messaging and consistent GTM strategy.
Due to economic issues at Mobia, I have scaled back my time devoted to Mobia which has allowed me to also pursue other endeavors.
2019 - 2021
VP Global Engagements
Working Group Two (Norway)
Multi-faceted role as face of the company/evangelist in the Americas.
Business Development- Interact with carriers, MVNOs, MSOs and IoT operators to decrease their cost of operations via cloud based mobile core.
A key player in the team that helps frame 5G and beyond solution delivery, execute and manage the delivery plan, and ultimately help our client achieve rapid time to value. Responsible for managing a portfolio of project engagements, vendors, implementation plans, status reporting, issue and risk management, and developing meaningful relationships representing end to end solutions to our clients. Additionally, I provide sales and BD support as needed.
I build strategic partnerships to cover all aspects of a client's need. In the case of WG2 this means RAN and BSS/OSS partners and in some cases such as IoT, international roaming partners.
Integration Architecture- Design system interfaces, migration planning and implementation program management.
Keynote Speaker at Conferences, White Paper author.
2017-2019
Principal Engineer II
CHARTER COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
Hired to design end to end architecture for Spectrum Mobile, a nationwide MVNO. My drawings became the documentation for the system at the corporate level.
Member of corporate Architectural Review Board
After successful launch of the MVNO, my role shifted to managing a group of architects and system analysts to provide drawings for systems across six lines of business: Mobile, Video, Voice, Micro Services, Broadband and Content.
2015-2017
Product Manager
>Program Manager
>CEO
VETTACOM,INC.
I was asked to be a part of a start-up that had a specific Unified Communications business plan. I started as Product Owner (managing design and operational properties), then moved to Program/Project Management to govern the build process across multiple teams of engineers around the world.
Promoted to CEO. Determined that a re-seller go to market strategy would best suit our resources. Through an extensive process, licensed the products to AT&T Mexico.
2007-2015
Product Owner
>Project Manager
>Program Manager
>CEO
TOTO COMMUNICATIONS, INC.
I started at Toto as a Product Owner. My responsibility was the design and building of an MVNO (totowireless.com) which was connected to all four major US carriers over time.
After the product design phase, I was assigned the Project Manager role for the provisioning and carrier interconnect development. This stretched into risk management and marketing system projects.
As these projects were wrapping up, it became clear that an overall Program Manager was needed to communicate between the development project managers and C-level and Board/shareholders. The stakeholders determined that I was the best prospect for that role.
Upon finishing Toto Wireless and several related projects, I was promoted to CEO. During this period I was responsible for several acquisitions and the integration of those properties into the Toto culture, and systems. This involved the re-branding of the acquisitions, designing the integrations and architecture required to improve capabilities and operational efficiencies.
My "hands on" approach did not last very long, as my duties changed to include a much more involved role with the board of directors, shareholder communications and overseeing marketing efforts.
Regarding my board and shareholder duties, I was responsible for quarterly reports which included project status, financial reports, HR issues (benefit analysis, salary comps, policy, etc.), and marketing efforts and associated metrics.
In this role as company SME, I routinely worked with direct reports to understand their status, and succinctly communicate their issues and successes to the board and shareholders. In most cases these were PowerPoint presentations, presented by me.
My role as SME was not confined to the company, I was asked to speak at several international events, especially the MVNO World Congress. Through these engagements I was consulted by large organizations who were in the throws of creating or managing an MVNO of their own.
Given the number of "properties" and licenses held by Toto Communications, we were able to build and license many "bespoke" solutions in several vertical markets. These of course promoted "sticky-ness" and customer loyalty. I worked with the sales team extensively to ensure that the customer needs were met, and of course to inquire about extensions of those needs and how we might fulfill them
1997-2007
Project Manager
Promoted to CTO
ADVOCAST, INC.
Advocast started as a back-end system for members of advocacy organizations, as such it was a content management system. In addition, Advocast also became a CRM system for managing communications among members.
This project was highly complex with many inter-dependencies, and some 5 million lines of code. The product was not only delivered on time and under budget, but was also licensed to several companies and purchased by a competitive company.
Advocast set the standard for CMS and to some extent CRM in the early part of this century.
Design and Architecture Samples
Application Designs -
These were designed for both Android and iOS:
These designs included functional and operational notes, but for purposes of this website, I have included just the designs
Architecture Samples:
Many of these have second or third layers that are not shown.
Shareholder Demo of System
This is a system that I designed as Product Owner
Initial Marketing Video
This was introduced at the US MVNO World Congress 2013
Marketing Video 2013
This video was introduced at the EU MVNO World Congress in London
REFERENCES & SKILLS
Executive Competency
Program Management
Project Management - Agile/Waterfall
Product Management
Product Owner/Product Design
Enterprise Architecture
EXPERTISE
MVNO & 5G
My experience with MVNOs has not only made me "in demand" as an international speaker, but also has given me exposure to all things "mobile"...IoT, Applications, Network Systems and of course the BSS/OSS side of the business.
I am fully competent in 5G architecture and have designed IoT systems for Smart City and Smart Home use.
Additionally, I have been asked to consult on such topics as spectrum usage by international MVNOs looking for ways to utilize their allotments of spectrum.
Above you can see my passion for creating products that are meaningful to customers. Lynx and Hoot are both examples of this. Both started out to fulfill a vacuum in the B2B marketplace: a mobile PBX system that would pass calls over the voice channel on the cell network, instead of VoIP...why? Voice is the top priority in a cellular network; so shouldn't business calls get top priority?
We expanded these systems over time to include geo fencing, KPI reporting and other features.
I am passionate about Mobility and MVNO opportunities to differentiate themselves.
Enterprise Architecture
My knowledge of architecture and associated drawings is on par with expectations from most tech companies and surpasses many of them.
What makes my architecture possible are my interactions with development teams, without whom, it would be difficult to produce accurate drawings. I therefore value the relationship aspect of enterprise architecture.
Working with the Development Teams ensures accuracy of diagrams.
My architectural background includes Governance such as TOGAF to ensure uniformity across an enterprise.
I have been a member of the Architectural Review Board at Charter Communications, ensuring collaboration across departments, and viability of designs.
Most satisfying are the opportunities to teach architecture to those who want to learn. Those who have an aptitude, will find a willing mentor in me.
Management Roles
Like most people, I enjoy most the roles I at which I am best. In this environment that would be Program / Project Management, and Leadership.
As a Senior PM, I am able to assess risk at every juncture, and communicate that risk and other critical details to Leadership without varnish. I believe that there is risk in not being honest.
I am experienced in Agile and Waterfall, and driving projects to completion while solving the incremental blockers.
As CEO, I routinely developed process improvement plans as well as ERP planning for submission to board members, stakeholders and implementation of the approved plans. One of my major responsibilities has been the communication of company progress on objectives to these stakeholders.
Further, I am skilled at reading the requests from board members or shareholders, their level of expertise, and the materials that will resonate with them.
In many cases, materials delivered to board members or shareholders may be different from actual marketing materials developed for PR or advertising agencies. I have a clear understanding of the differentiation and intended impact of these materials.