Nominee Questionnaire

Please provide a short bio for voters to get to know you. 

With over 20 years of experience in communications, I have a passion for working with customers and being a trusted advisor for their network designs. My current role at Prysmian is essentially application engineering with a few additional responsibilities surrounding marketing efforts. Prior to coming to Prysmian, I managed the application engineering team at Netceed, a global distributor with a diverse base of customers in the broadband space. 

When I am not a champion for fiber networks, my family gets sick of listening to me pointing out network facilities along the road on trips for travel sports or camping. It is difficult not to have a sense of pride for something that you were part of, especially if it ended up in a book written by Michael Lewis, or in a movie starring Selma Hayek. 

At home I have a wife and three boys, two of which are in high school (not my wife, of course!). I am based in the Philadelphia area where I enjoy a FiOS connection that gets me 300 meg at the desk. When I’m not working, I enjoy running, cycling, photography and cheering or coaching my sons from the sidelines. 

Please summarize why you consider yourself an excellent candidate for the FBA Board of Directors? 

My technical background in supply chain and manufacturing can offer strategic perspective and guidance for the board and committees to help champion the advancement of fiber broadband. During my time in the industry, I have attended and participated in events for several industry associations. I am impressed with the direction and reach of the FBA, and I am motivated to be an impactful part of its mission. The membership of the FBA, IMO, is at the cutting edge of deploying fiber networks. At the same time, the service provider members need the help and expertise that the FBA can bring. To their competitors, that expertise may come from well-established standards groups and legacy organizations. While our members may or may not recognize those standards, they need to have someone in their corner who can not only help with technical support, but public policy, keen insights and reporting, and so much more. 

Describe your current position and functional responsibilities to your company. 

As Technical Marketing Senior Manager, I manage our application engineers for fiber optic cable in North America. We are a team of four who divide responsibility by optical fiber, and various types of cable that we offer. Tasks range from building bills of material for projects to working with customers to select the correct cables to use in their applications. Often sales will engage with application engineering to assist with customer presentations virtually or in-person. 

We are also responsible for creating and maintaining data sheets, catalogs, whitepapers, and application notes for Prysmian’s fiber optic cable and fibers in North America. Our department assists marketing with product sample and display creation for trade shows and other customer events. 

As Prysmian works towards becoming a solutions company, my background in the industry benefits all efforts to blend the strengths, products and acumen of the organizations that we acquire or organically grow. I have become involved with opportunities including our partner Relativity Networks for Hollow Core Fiber, Alesea for asset management, legacy General Cable for emerging PoE technologies, and Channell for FTTH solutions. 

What was your previous position, and how long did you hold that position before transitioning to your current one? 

At Netceed, I was the Director of Application Engineering, and I managed a team of 7 who included field and desk roles. Our group was responsible for helping train customers on how to splice, test and install fiber optic cable among other key training for other network pathway and tools. We would work with customers on delivering everything from a single part number to a full solution of products to help them deploy faster and save cost. Our team was also responsible for running a cabinet integration business out of our North Carolina location. The cabinet segment was staffed by industry veterans offering high-quality turnkey cabinets combining power, access equipment and connectivity. 

I started my journey with Netceed at Comstar Supply, where I was at the organization a combined 15 years. During my time at Comstar, I was part of the growth that saw the company go from $20M to $100M+. My role that eventually became application engineering started in sales. I was also responsible for growing the product portfolio, seeking new vendor relationships, and training our sales staff on those new lines.

Do you have any experience as a member of a Board of Directors? If so please provide name of the entity and number of years of which you served. 

This would be my first board seat. 

How many years has your company been a Fiber Broadband Association Member?

Prysmian has been a member for over 20 years. 

How many years have you participated in Fiber Broadband Association activities? 

6

Please indicate any Fiber Broadband Association Committees or working groups you have participated on including position and years served. 

I am currently the Vice Chair of the Supply Chain committee, and I also serve on the Middle Mile and Education committees. I started joining the committees in 2025. 

Please list any Fiber Broadband Association Contributions (activities supported, assets developed, documents drafted, webinars presented, etc.) 

This year I sat on a panel at Fiber Connect discussing MDU solutions with Kevin Bourg, Mike White, Adam Bell and Jeff Baumgartner. I also presented a webinar on 6/16 entitled “Fiber Provisioning, What’s Next?” to highlight the future possibilities of reduced fiber coatings, Hollow Core and Multi-Core Fibers. With the Supply Chain committee, I spearheaded the document Network Materials Outlook, which just went through its final revision. This paper will give operators keen insights deeper into the supply chain to help stay ahead of potential shortages and price increases. It also arms them with questions to ask the supplier community to help them navigate more challenging periods such as the one we are in now. I am also coordinating with the Education committee on some of the training modules for OpTIC Path. 

Please provide a short overview of your experience with telecommunications, fiber optics, and FTTH technologies. 

While I have never worked in the field, I have been through numerous supplier trainings with real hands-on experience. Through those trainings, I have trained customers on how to operate cable jetting equipment, splice machines and fiber optic test equipment. I have supported product trials with customers, at times actively participating in demonstrating various equipment. 

And while I am very comfortable working alongside contractors and end user technicians in the field, I also enjoy speaking at events and webinars. In fact, this week I was at an industry consulting firm event, networking with CEOs and other high-profile executives. The next day I was at a cable jetting trial assisting with the testing of new cable designs. I had to pack one bag with boots, and another with a suit and tie for that trip.

Please describe the goals you would like to accomplish during your term as Fiber Broadband Association Board Member. 

While I have experience in many market verticals within telecommunications, there is still a lot I can learn from my industry peers. In that same vein, I feel there is a lot of knowledge I can share with the FBA members. I want to empower operators to make the best purchasing decisions to help them complete their projects on time and within budget. I would also like to see more technicians become proficient through the OpTIC Path program. Furthermore, I would like to be an advocate for the FBA overall, promoting the benefits of the organization to new and existing members.

Please describe the level of commitment (in terms of time and effort) that you intend to make to the Association during the three-year term. 

Since joining Prysmian, I was excited to have the opportunity to network and get involved with the FBA as a Premier Member. I would say I am already meeting the goals of virtual meetings, through participation in committee events. As a board member, I see the need to include more regional events on my calendar, and I am ready and willing to participate in those. 

Please use this space to include any additional information you feel is important to share with voting members.   

There is so much more I could say about my experiences in the industry, but I think it is my passion to learn more and get involved that makes seeking a position on the board a natural step in my career path. Thank you for your time in considering me for an open board position.