Daniel Romer
VP of Sales, Americas - STL
Nominee Questionnaire
Please provide a short bio for voters to get to know you. | My name is Daniel Romer and I am the VP of Sales at STL. Together with my wife and energetic two young boys I live in Columbia, SC, right in the heart of all things fiber and cable! Since joining this industry in 2014 I have been involved in selling over 1 billion dollars worth of optical fiber cable and have been working hard to help promote fiber based broadband. I personally believe that if it is not fiber, it is not broadband! The FBA promotes this like no other organization and I would love to lend my experience, time, and efforts to help the organization spread that message even wider and more effectively. |
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Please explain why you consider yourself an excellent candidate for the Board of Directors of the Fiber Broadband Association. | I am passionate about promoting fiber based broadband to all consumers and have been working for nearly 10 years to make sure that service providers have the right products to expand and upgrades their networks as quickly as possible. I have an appetite to learn and still learn new things daily in this ever changing industry. I believe that I can be of service to the FBA by bringing a fresh perspective from a manufacturer’s point of view with direct inputs from many different customers across the market.
I will pledge my time and efforts to helping the FBA in any way needed and will spend 3 years promoting the FBA’s mission where necessary. I have spent the last 4 years of my career with STL where we have been able to fill a large void in the market that was created by a surge in demand and a broken existing supply chain that could not grow fast enough. Through agility and understanding current market needs we were able to deliver additional tens of millions feet of fiber into an environment desperate for growing and improving networks. All of this was driven by the understood need to connect the next 50% of America to reliable broadband service. Over the past 3 years we have seen major improvements in the home passed and homes connected in the US. However, I believe that we still have a long way to go until we reach that goal of 100% connectivity for all American households. The FBA has been instrumental in getting new legislation created and large public broadband funds established. Now it is time to make sure the rollouts happen smoothly, the recipients understand the requirements put on them, and help guide this process. I believe that I can help facilitate that and keep promoting the need to better and future-proof networks. |
How many years has your company been a Fiber Broadband Association Member? | 3 |
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 have been a member of the Public Policy committee for the past year. |
Please list any Fiber Broadband Association Contributions (activities supported, assets developed, documents drafted, webinars presented, etc.) | As STL we have been an exhibiting vendor at the Fiberconnect shows, and I have been a speaker during some of the shows and breakout sessions. |
How many years have you been in your current position? | 2 |
Describe your current job and functional responsibilities. | I lead the sales team in the United States and Canada for STL. My team covers the entire continent and is focused on providing optical fiber cable to service providers throughout the industry. We work together with large Tier 1 carriers as well as small rural telephone companies and part of my role is to make sure we protect the best interest of the consumer. I believe it is important in today’s landscape to focus especially on some of the smaller providers that have been overlooked in the past. These are the companies that are digging ditches and climbing poles in rural America to do the work that has been happened in the past 25 years. In my role I have been involved since day 1 for STL to build up our North American presence, which included the opening of our brand new factory in South Carolina. I believe in the emphasis that is placed on bringing the supply chain, and as many jobs as possible, back to the US. |
What was your previous position? | Tier 1 Account Manager |
How many years did you hold your previous position for? | 2 |
Do you have experience as a member of a Board of Directors? | No |
The bylaws prohibit convicted felons from serving on the board. Is there any legal impediment that would prevent you from serving on the Board? | No |
Is there any legal issue personally of which the Association should be aware? | No |
Being a Fiber Broadband Association Board Member requires a considerable time commitment. Please confirm that you have the support of your company if you are elected. | Yes |
Please provide a short overview of your experience with telecommunications, fiber optics, and FTTH technologies. | I have been working for manufacturer of optical fiber cable for the past 10 years. Through this experience I am intimately familiar with how the most important part of the network is produced, functions, and needs to be treated. This also has exposed me to detailed knowledge of some of the biggest bottlenecks that this industry has had to face when it comes to fiber supply. The projected increased demand that BEAD will drive, on top of already historical demand, will surely lead to another market cycle of undersupply. I think that I can bring a lot of those insights to the FBA to help understand some of the challenges and help educate the companies we serve. |
Please describe the goals you would like to accomplish during your term as Fiber Broadband Association Board Member. | I would like to a part of a team that helps drive this industry closer to passing every household in the USA. President Biden has stated that he wants 100% homes passed by 3030, so I would like to be able to say that in 2027 we are 80% of the way there. I think the FBA can be instrumental in helping to remove some roadblocks for the providers and help educate on how best to navigate complicated processes. I would like to be at the forefront of that and be a resource to anyone who is looking for help and guidance.
I also have witnessed amazing growth year over year of the Fiberconnect expo over the past 3 years. Despite this success I am sure that there is more growth possible and would like to contribute to making sure that Fiberconnect establishes itself as the best and most valuable Telecom show in the industry. |
Have you reviewed the Board of Directors’ Responsibilities document, and do you understand what is required? | Yes |
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. | I am extremely competitive and always work very hard to reach the goals that are set for me and I set for myself. If I am elected a Board Member for the FBA, I will commit whatever time it will take for me to make an impact and do what is expected of me. I am used to traveling a lot in my current role and have learned to be flexible when it comes to my schedule and working around important projects that take a lot of time. I will have no problem spending time and effort pushing the Association forward. |
Please inform us of any other information, issue, or concern of which the Association should be aware. | None |