Adrienne Biddings, Telecom Policy Counsel, Google Inc.
Adrienne Biddings is currently a telecom policy counsel for Google Inc. in Washington, D.C., where represents the company before the FCC, other federal administrative agencies, Congress and the federal courts. Prior to going to Google, she was a staff attorney at Georgetown Institute for Public Representation, where she worked on projects to make communications media accessible, diverse and responsive to the needs of all segments of the community. Biddings also an author of articles on race, gender and the media including “Women on Women: The Representation of Women by Female Rap Artists.” She earned L.L.M. in Advocacy from Georgetown University Law Center; received a J.D. the University of Florida College of Law, a Master’s degree in Mass Communications from the University of Florida and a Bachelor’s in Communications from the University of Miami. Before attending law school, Biddings worked as a promotions producer for an ABC affiliate in Miami and was a technical director for a public access channel in Wilmington, N.C.

Chris Birdsall, Executive Vice President of Global Sales, Global Convergence Solutions
Chris Birdsall is the executive vice president of Global Sales and has responsibility for the overall management, direction and sales growth for Global Convergence Solutions. He has more than 17 years of superior sales results, successfully driving organizations as a business development strategist.  Birdsall has a proven track record as a strong motivational leader adept in managing and motivating cross-functional teams on several continents. Prior to joining Global Convergence Solutions, he was vice president of North American Sales at NexTone, where he was a key contributor in building NexTone into one of the world's largest session management companies in the world.  Additionally, Birdsall previously held senior sales leadership positions at Viatel Communications and REACH. Throughout his career, Birdsall has specialized in structuring and completing complex deals, bridging diverse groups to achieve implementation of advanced next-generation networks. Chris earned degrees in Organizational Communications and Finance from Creighton University.

Jerry Cady, Director of Sales and Marketing, LS Networks
Jerry Cady is director of Sales and Marketing for Lightspeed Networks, Inc. (dba LS Networks), where he is responsible for product development, customer acquisition and service direction.  Cady has been charged by the company to maximize the extensive broadband infrastructure that LS Networks has deployed throughout the Northwest.  With the only network covering the entire state of Oregon, going deep into rural markets, Cady is taking LS Networks products in directions that allow all forms of communications to markets underserved by incumbent local exchange carriers.  New product innovations include the nation’s first “Programming Distribution Network,” which provides over 300 video broadcast channels over its statewide network of over 20 MPLS-P nodes for distribution of content to cable operators, triple play operators and rural local exchange carriers who wish to deliver competitive video content.  Cady has more than 35 years in telecommunications mostly in senior executive operations and engineering roles including early innovations in VoIP, SaaS and legacy packet technologies.  He also holds a patent for “Quality determination for packetized information,” which lead to the first real-time voice quality monitoring system for VoIP deployments.

Craig M. Clausen, Executive Vice President and Principal Analyst, New Paradigm Resources Group
Craig Clausen is executive vice president and principal analyst of New Paradigm Resources Group Inc. (NPRG), one of the leading strategic research and analysis firm covering the communications industry.  He directs the research and production of NPRG’s extensive array of analytical products and information services that examine the range of emerging markets and service provider sectors comprising the industry. Prior to forming NPRG with the late Terry Barnich in 1993, Clausen served as the senior policy advisor to the chairman at the Illinois Commerce Commission.

Dave Conn, Vice President, State Regulatory, for T-Mobile USA
Dave Conn is vice president, State Regulatory, for T-Mobile USA, leading a team that spearheads the company’s efforts on all matters related to state regulatory activity and numbering policy.  Prior to joining T-Mobile in 2003, Conn was vice president and deputy general counsel for McLeodUSA, providing legal and regulatory support for McLeodUSA's retail telecommunications operations.  Before joining McLeodUSA, he was employed by the Iowa Department of Justice, the Iowa Utilities Board and the Iowa State Commerce Commission, spending 16 years representing the interests of consumers generally in administrative practice and in court, on issues related to telecommunications, electric, and natural gas rates and policy.  Conn has over 30 years experience in telecommunications policy issues, and has appeared as both a lawyer and a witness before various courts, state utility commissions, and the United States Congress.  He has also has been a guest lecturer on Telecommunications Law at the University of Washington School of Law; a director of the Universal Service Administrative Company (USAC); a member of the FCC-Joint Board Rural Task Force on Universal Service; a director of the Competition Policy Institute; and a member of the Operating Board of the Association for Local Telecommunications Services (ALTS).  Conn earned Bachelor’s, Master’s and Juris Doctor degrees from the University of Iowa. 

Joseph J. DePetro, Director, Carrier Relations, ECC Technologies
Joseph DePetro serves as director of Carrier Relations for ECC Technologies, a Raleigh, N.C.-based full-service technology and communications consulting group, which was named Fiber Marketing Partner by MCNC, the non-profit operator of North Carolina’s Research and Education Network (NCREN). Prior to joining ECC Technologies, DePetro served as director, Business Development for National LambdaRail. From 2006 through 2008, he served as president and COO of Vinculum Communications, and prior to that was executive vice president of Global Business Development for Pacific Gateway Exchange. In 1998, DePetro joined Level 3 Communications in 1998 as vice president, Wholesale Services.  He also held the roles of vice president of Commercial Sales and Wholesale Markets, as well as senior vice president and general manager of Sales and Marketing at Southern Pacific Telecommunications (SP Telecom). In 1994, SP Telecom acquired Qwest, a Dallas-based digital microwave company, moved their headquarters to Denver and changed the name to Qwest Communications Inc.

Craig M. Drinkhall, Vice President, Product Management and Engineering, Lumos Networks
For more than 30 years, Craig Drinkhall has helped companies successfully leverage their assets to enter new markets and become leaders in a rapidly changing technology world. Prior to joining Lumos Networks, Drinkhall served in engineering, product development and marketing positions in several telecommunications, data center and Internet technology companies. Most recently, he served as senior vice president of Product Delivery & Emerging Opportunities for Level 3 Communications.  While at TelCove Corporation, he was senior vice president, Engineering and Product Development, Marketing, and Information Technology. Drinkhall also has successfully built and sold an Internet applications company and led the Telecommunications division at a large Data Center outsourcing firm serving Fortune 500 clients. Drinkhall earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science from Pennsylvania State University.

William T. Esrey Jr., Vice President, Wholesale,  Sprint
Bill Esrey Jr. was appointed vice president, Wholesale for Sprint in May 2008, where he is responsible for performing the sales, account management, implementation, operations support and solutions marketing functions for all customer segments. Prior to assuming his current role, Esrey was vice president of Customer Management for Sprint Business and served as vice president, Business Sales from August 2000 until September 2005. Esrey began his career at Sprint in September 1989 in what was Sprint’s Local Telecommunications Division. He then joined Sprint PCS in 1995 as one of the first 50 employees and one of the first members of the management team, where he served as director of Business Sales Development and director of National Accounts. In addition, throughout his career, Esrey has held many sales, management and operations positions in Chicago with Ameritech and Centel Corp. Esrey earned a Bachelor of Arts in Communications in 1989 from Denison University and completed an eight-month course at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business that was designed by their Executive Education department specifically for the top 30 officers of Sprint/Nextel Corp.

Lawrence R. Freedman, Partner, Edwards Wildman
Lawrence “Larry” Freedman is a partner in Edwards Wildman Business Law Department, where he specializes in telecommunications law and leads the firm’s Cloud Computing group. Freedman has practiced law for more than 20 years and has substantial experience with issues under the 1996 Telecom Act. His telecommunications practice focuses on serving clients in transactions, as well as regulatory and dispute resolution matters before state public regulatory commissions, the FCC, and other arenas. His particular focus is on the issues between competitive and incumbent local exchange carriers, including interconnection obligations and agreements. Freedman has advised clients on the development and implementation of a cloud computing strategy, and leads a second core practice area, specializing in issues relating to “wired communities” and the nexus between telecommunications and real estate and community development.

Larissa L. Herda, Chairman, CEO and President, tw telecom inc.
Larissa Herda took the helm of tw telecom inc., formerly Time Warner Telecom Inc., as CEO and president in June 1998, and was elected chairman of the Board of Directors in June 2001. Prior to this, Herda served as the company’s senior vice president of Sales and Marketing from March 1997 until her appointment as CEO. Under Herda’s direction, tw telecom grew from $26 million in revenue in 1996 to $1.4 billion in 2011; expanded its broadband network footprint from 17 U.S. markets to 75; built a national IP backbone recognized as one of the top 10 most connected IP networks in the world; introduced comprehensive data, voice, Internet and national Ethernet products; and made three acquisitions. Herda also has raised approximately $7 billion in the public and private debt markets, including a $290 million IPO, since becoming tw telecom president and CEO. Herda is a member of the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee and is chairman of the board of the Denver Branch of the Federal Reserve of Kansas City. She also is a member of the Colorado Innovation Network advisory board, appointed by Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, to promote collaboration among Colorado’s private, public and academic organizations and to stimulate economic growth, help create jobs and attract new businesses. Herda has been a member of the board of directors for eight years at the Leeds School of Business at the University of Colorado and is currently a member of the school’s advisory board for the Center for Education in Social Responsibility (CESR). She is a member of The Committee of 200 and a member of the community advisory board of SungateKids, a local children’s advocacy center helping abused children and their families. Recognized for her business efforts and leadership in the community, Herda was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Rocky Mountain Region and the Denver Business Journal’s CEO of the Year and Outstanding Woman in Business. In addition, she was named Telecom Executive of the Year by the Denver Telecom Professionals. She also received the “Swede” Johnson Hope Award presented by the Colorado Chapter of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the Women of Distinction Award from the Girl Scouts of America. Herda is a graduate of the University of Colorado.

Royce J. Holland, Chairman Board of Directors, Masergy Communications, Inc.
Royce Holland has served as Masergy’s executive chairman of the board of directors since February 2008 and a member of the board of directors since January 2005. In his current role, he is responsible for strategic and operational direction, in addition to oversight of the company. Prior to becoming executive chairman of Masergy, Holland was CEO and director of McLeod USA, a CLEC that was sold to PAETEC in January 2008. Holland also was previously co-founder, chairman and CEO of Allegiance Telecom Inc., from 1997 until its 2004 acquisition by XO Communications Inc. Before founding Allegiance, he served as president and co-founder of MFS Communications Company Inc., one of the first competitive local carriers with operations in 52 metropolitan areas in North America, Europe and Asia. Holland is a former chairman of ALTS, the trade industry association for facilities-based CLECs which became part of COMPTEL in 2005, and was appointed by President George H. W. Bush to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. He also was appointed by Gov. George W. Bush to the Texas E-Government Task Force. Holland earned a Bachelor’s degree in Engineering from the University of Texas and a Master’s degree in Engineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Kristie C. Ince, Vice President of Regulatory Affairs, tw telecom inc.
Kristie (Flippo) Ince began her regulatory and legislative career in 1993 in the office of Texas State Rep. Kenny Marchant as a committee clerk and then served as his chief clerk in 1995. Ince then worked for Texas State Sen. David Cain as his legislative director from 1997 until April 2000.  In April of 2000, she took the position of vice president of Regulatory Affairs with tw telecom, where she covers a six-state region, including the states of Texas, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Nevada and Oklahoma, and interfaces with both the public utility commissions and state legislatures. Ince earned a Bachelor’s degree in German from the University of Texas at Austin and attended the University of Wuerzberg in Germany.

Jerry James, CEO, COMPTEL
Jerry James has more than 40 years experience in the communications industry. He started his career at Southwestern Bell and then worked as a management consultant for Coopers and Lybrand until he co-founded the telecommunications consulting firm The Warner Whitney Group Inc. in 1979.  Then, as a senior executive of network operations at ClayDesta Communications, James supervised the building of the first all-digital network in Texas in mid-1980s. He held other executive positions at other well-known communications companies until 2000, when he co-founded and served as president of Grande Communications, which constructed Texas' first fiber-to-the-home network. During his career, James has been active in policy advocacy at the local, state and federal levels. He helped found state associations for the competitive communications industry in several states, served on the boards of national trade associations and served as vice chairman and chairman of COMPTEL. James has served as CEO of COMPTEL since June 2007.

Drew Jenkins, Director, Worldwide Channel Sales, SoftLayer Technologies Inc.
Drew Jenkins is the director of Worldwide Channel Sales for SoftLayer Technologies Inc., a provider of on-demand cloud, managed and dedicated hosting services, based in Dallas. With more than 26,000 customers running on approximately 100,000 servers, SoftLayer is the world’s largest privately-held hosting company. Jenkins is responsible for SoftLayer’s worldwide channel strategy, which includes revenue production and program development, as well as the recruiting, training and management of partners in the U.S., EMEA and APAC. Prior to joining SoftLayer, Jenkins was a regional manager in the channel sales organization at Rackspace Hosting. Other channel sales experience includes Winternals Software, where he started the channel sales team and grew that business until the company was acquired by Microsoft in 2006. Jenkins also spent a few years at Dell, in a variety of sales roles.

Ash Johnston, Partner, Lampert, O'Connor & Johnston, P.C.
Ash Johnston is a partner in the Washington, D.C., law firm of Lampert, O'Connor & Johnston, P.C., specializing in communications, Internet and new technology matters.  He has worked with clients, from innovative start-ups to Fortune 100 companies, to navigate complex federal and state regulation for more than 20 years, providing legal, business and strategic counseling on a broad range of issues, including competition, compliance and enforcement, universal service, privacy and spectrum access.   His representations in connection with the federal Universal Service Fund include contribution reform policy, compliance counseling, billing and payment matters, and enforcement proceedings.  Johnston earned his law degree from the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from James Madison University.  He is a member of the District of Columbia bar and the Federal Communications Bar Association.

George Karidis, Chief Strategy Officer, SoftLayer
George Karidis joined SoftLayer in January 2008, and is responsible for the company’s strategic growth and marketing activities. Prior to joining SoftLayer, Karidis spent seven years with Devonshire Investors, the private equity arm of Fidelity Investments, where he drove the strategic planning efforts of portfolio companies focused on the telecom, hosting, and software markets, and took active roles in each company from inception through domestic growth and international expansions. Previously, Karidis led business development for a startup serving the SME market, and spent more than six years with the Yankee Group as an industry analyst covering the telecom and IT sectors. He earned an Honors Bachelor of Commerce degree from McMaster University with majors in finance, accounting and economics, and a Master in Business Administration from the University of Ottawa.

Kevin Klett, Vice President of Strategic Product Management, Acme Packet
Since joining Acme Packet in 2000, Kevin Klett has led product strategy, development and lifecycle management for the Net-Net service provider product family. Prior to Acme Packet, Klett served as assistant vice president of Corporate Systems Engineering for Lucent Technologies’ OPENet Division. At Lucent, he created and directed a global corporate systems engineering team to support sales of the company's Softswitch Solutions and the former Excel programmable converged service platforms. Klett joined Excel Switching in 1995 (acquired by Lucent in 1999) and served in systems engineering, engineering project management, protocol development and support management. Klett earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Telecommunications from the University of Connecticut.

Tim Koxlien, Founder and CEO, TeleQuality Communications Inc.
Tim Koxlien is the founder and CEO of TeleQuality Communications, Inc., a telecommunications provider that works exclusively in rural markets to deliver quality services to remote locations in the United States. Koxlien began his career in telecommunications as a sales representative for US West in Minneapolis. Then in 1991, he founded his first company, The Koxlien Group, a WAN design and sales agency for a number of large carriers, including AT&T, Qwest and Ameritech. Over the past 20 years, Koxlien’s businesses have evolved and grown to include TeleQuality Communications, which was established in 2006. Today, TeleQuality Communications, Inc. operates in over 30 states, and was named as one of Inc. Magazine’s Top 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in 2011. This past April, Koxlien was elected to the COMPTEL Board of Directors.

Angela Kronenberg, Wireline Legal Advisor, Office of Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, Federal Communications Commission
Angela "Angie" Kronenberg has been serving as the Commissioner’s   Wireline legal advisor since December 2009 and provides advice on a wide variety of wireline, broadband and universal service matters. Prior to joining the Commissioner’s office , Kronenberg served as special counsel in the Spectrum & Competition Policy Division of the Wireless Telecommunications Bureau. Before coming to the FCC, she practiced telecommunications and media law for over a decade in the Washington, D.C., office of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP. Kronenberg earned a Juris Doctor degree from the Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America. She also earned a certification from The Institute for Communications Law Studies at the Columbus School of Law. Kronenberg also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Baylor University.

 Randall B. Lowe, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine LLP
For more than 30 years, Randy Lowe has advised and worked with for profit and non-profit corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and joint ventures on governance, transactional, regulatory and legislative matters ranging from drafting and negotiating vendor agreements to mergers and acquisitions. Lowe worked for AT&T in Washington, D.C., and New York City, and later joined ITT where he represented its domestic and foreign subsidiaries, including one of the first competitive long distance telephone companies in the United States. Prior to joining Davis Wright Tremaine LLP,
Lowe was the executive vice president and chief legal officer of Prism Communications Inc. and a member of its Office of the President, where he was charged with implementing the design, construction and operation of a nationwide, integrated voice and broadband data network.   Lowe earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rhode Island and a Juris Doctor from Washington University School of Law.

David J. Malfara Sr., President and CEO, ETC Group LLC
David Malfara directs all efforts involved in the conception and launch of new business models based on emerging technologies for ETC Group’s carrier/service provider clients. In the 30 years prior to founding ETC Group, Malfara founded and/or served as president and CEO of a number of successful service provider companies, including Remi Communications, Z-Tel Network Services Inc., Pennsylvania Alternative Communications Inc., Pace Network Services and Vector Communications Inc.  Early in his career, he held engineering and management positions at National Computer Corp., Honeywell Information Systems and GTE Telenet.  Malfara served for more than 10 years as a director of COMPTEL and chaired the association’s Technology Task Force. He is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the IEEE Standards Association and sits on the executive advisory board of multiple service providers.

Ronald Mudry, CEO, Tower Cloud Inc.
Ron Mudry has 28 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. He is the founding CEO of Tower Cloud, which provides backhaul services to wireless carriers. Prior to that, Mudry was the founding CEO of Progress Telecom, which became a regional leader providing fiber optic broadband services and cellular tower attachment services in the Southeast. Earlier in his career, he gained cross-functional experience in the telecom industry with over 15 years at GTE Corp. (now Verizon). Mudry earned a Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Tampa and a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.

Chris Murray, Senior Vice President of Public Policy, EarthLink
Chris Murray is senior vice president of Public Policy, coordinating the intersection of federal regulatory policy, business strategy and political outreach for EarthLink  in the company’s Washington, D.C., office.  Prior to joining EarthLink, he was vice [resident of External Affairs for Clearwire, the 4G mobile broadband Internet company.  He established the D.C. office and served as vice president, Regulatory, for Internet phone company Vonage.  He also served as senior counsel and directed media and telecom advocacy for Consumers Union, the non-profit publisher of Consumer Reports magazine. 

BJ Neal, Chief Network Architect, Syniverse
BJ Neal has served as Syniverse’s chief network architect since June 2010 and is the Network LOB lead on the Syniverse LTE Task Force. Prior to assuming this role, Neal was a chief engineer and senior technologist with FCC, where he worked on the Omnibus Broadband Initiative (National Broadband Plan). Neal has worked in the telecommunications industry for more than 17 years, holding vice president, director, manager, technologist and engineering positions within a variety of firms. He has practical experience in planning, implementation and production support of next-generation network architectures, as well as in-depth knowledge of leased facilities from all types of telecommunications service providers. Neal earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the West Virginia University Institute of Technology. He is currently a member of the IEEE Communications Society.

Mannix O’Connor , Director of Technical Marketing,  MRV Communications
Mannix O’Connor, director of Technical Marketing at MRV, has  held director or vice president positions at Hitachi, Corrigent Systems, Nortel Networks, Bay Networks and Synoptics. O’Connor was the founding secretary of the IEEE 802.17 Working Group and was a founding member of the Resilient Packet Ring Alliance. He also was co-chair of the MEF Access committee. O’Connor is a co-author of the recent publication “Delivering Carrier Ethernet,” published by McGraw-Hill.   At the Ethernet Academy he published a peer-reviewed paper on management of DOCSIS PONs. He has spoken on switching and optical networking at Supercomm, ComNet, Networld & Interop, Convergence India, Comdex Argentina, and the Congreso Internacional de Telefonia IP Mexico.   He earned a Master’s in Business Administration degree from George Washington University.

Christopher K. Ortbals, Vice President of Cloud Services, Cbeyond Inc.
Christopher K. Ortbals, Cbeyond's vice president of Cloud Services, leads the product management and development of cloud and managed hosting offerings.  He is responsible for the vision, strategy and execution for the cloud product line. Ortbals has extensive experience in product management, product development and IT services. Prior to Cbeyond, he held several leadership positions across a decade of work with Savvis, where he built their Symphony Virtual Private Data Center (VPDC) solution from the ground up.  In this role, Ortbals was responsible for the product management and development of Savvis' flagship cloud services platform. Ortbals earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Kansas State University and a Master's degree in Information Management from Washington University.

Patrick Ostiguy, Founder, President and CEO, Accedian Networks Inc.
Patrick Ostiguy founded Accedian Networks in 2004 and serves as president, CEO and sits on the company’s board of directors. With over a decade of pertinent telecom industry experience, Ostiguy is responsible for filing of several patent applications and has published dozens of industry conference proceedings and technology articles. Prior to founding Accedian, Ostiguy was co-founder Avantas Networks and launched the industry's first portable Ethernet and SONET field-services test-set. Avantas Networks was acquired for $100 million by EXFO Electro-Optical Engineering, where Ostiguy continued his role in product management and participated in several M&A activities at the executive level. Prior to Avantas, he was part of the initial Positron Fiber Systems (PFS) team that commercialized the industry's first Ethernet over SONET Multi-Service Provisioning Platform (MSPP). PFS was acquired by Reltec in 1997 for $200 million, and subsequently by Marconi. Ostiguy is the recipient of the Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year award in Quebec for recognition of his technology solutions, his exceptional leadership in driving growth, development and innovation in the industry. Ostiguy earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from University of Sherbrooke.

Chandra Pandey, Vice President of Platform Solutions, BTI Systems
Chandra Pandey is vice president of Platform Solutions for BTI Systems, where he is responsible for integrated solutions and next generation platforms. Pandey joined BTI from Juniper Networks, where he led the global Solutions Engineering and Architecture team working with service providers, large enterprise and data center customers, in addition to OEM partners.  Pandey has more than 19 years of networking industry experience designing; ASICs, carrier grade systems, and network architectures/solutions for delivering innovative services.  He also has management experience with Ciena/IPI, Ascend/Lucent, 3Com/US Robotics and IBM.  Pandey earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electronics Engineering from K.N.I.T, Sultanpur, India, a Master’s of Business Administration in High Tech and Finance from Northeastern University, and Executive Leadership training from Cornell University, N.Y.

Prayson Pate, Chief Technology Officer, Overture
Prayson Pate brings more than 25 years of experience developing software and hardware for networking products to Overture. He began his career in 1983 at FiberLAN, moved to Bell Northern Research (Nortel) and joined Larscom in 1992. He has extensive hardware/software design and management experience, and served as director of Engineering at Larscom before co-founding Overture. Pate is active in standards bodies such as the MEF and IETF, and he was chosen to be the co-editor of the pseudowire emulation edge-to-edge (PWE3) requirements and architecture documents (RFCs 3916 and 3985). He holds nine patents. He has assembled a team of experienced engineers at Overture with a strong track record of developing innovative carrier class products. Pate earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Duke University and a Master of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from North Carolina State University.

Bret Piatt, Director of Corporate Development and Strategy, Rackspace
Bret Piatt is director of Corporate Development and Strategy at Rackspace, where he is responsible for identifying and pursuing new growth opportunities for the company’s core business through M&A, strategic partnerships or incubation efforts. He played a crucial role in the formation of OpenStack, led teams for the Rackspace acquisitions of SharePoint911 and Mailgun, and helped start the Cloud Tools ecosystem for the Rackspace Open Cloud. Previously, Piatt was on the Product Management teams for both Rackspace and AT&T, where he was responsible for security and compliance product lines. His technical experience comes from his time at AT&T/SBC, where he designed carrier scale monitoring and management systems, optimized networks for enterprise customers and performed lab testing on new products from potential suppliers and partners. Piatt has more than 12 years experience working for service providers on leading-edge projects and technologies from the beginning of VPN services to the currently emerging public cloud computing market.

The Honorable Chip Pickering, Former Member of U.S. House of Representatives (R-MS)
Chip Pickering served six terms as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, representing Mississippi’s Third District. He was first elected to Congress in 1996, at the age of 33. Pickering served on the House Energy & Commerce Committee, where he was vice chairman from 2002 to 2006 and a member of the Telecommunications Subcommittee. In addition, he served as co-chairman and founder of the Congressional Wireless Caucus and was an assistant minority whip of the House. Pickering previously worked for Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS) and served as a staff member on the Senate Commerce Committee, where he helped shape the Telecommunications Act of 1996.  Because of his role in drafting the 1996 Act, he became well known as a Congressional leader on telecommunications issues. Pickering earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of Mississippi and a Master’s in Business Administration from Baylor University. He is currently associated with Capitol Resources LLC, Mississippi’s largest public affairs and government relations firm. 

Duncan Puller, Vice President, Cloud Services, Sidera
Duncan Puller is vice president, Cloud Services at Sidera, where he is responsible for driving business to Sidera’s sales organization, through developing relationships with strategic data center operators and cloud service providers who benefit from Sidera’s mission critical network infrastructure.  Prior to joining Sidera in 2012, Puller served as chief operating officer at Nimbus Exchange, where he designed and built a network exchange that enabled enterprise customers to easily connect their private datacenters to public cloud infrastructure.  Previously, he held a variety of senior leadership roles in solutions engineering, technical strategy and product management at companies such as UUNET, Qwest, Cable & Wireless and SAVVIS. Puller earned a Master’s degree in Telecommunication from George Washington University and a Bachelor’s degree in Management Science from Virginia Tech.

Kurt Raaflaub, Product Manager for Ethernet and Optical Solutions, Carrier Networks Division, ADTRAN
Kurt Raaflaub is an 18-year telecom veteran, who has global responsibility for directing ADTRAN’s Ethernet and optical solutions marketing activities. Some of these solutions include the delivery of business Ethernet services, LTE mobile backhaul and packet optical edge, middle mile and metro networking. Prior to his current role, Raaflaub had responsibility for the market development and product management of the ADTRAN Carrier Ethernet solution suite, which includes Ethernet service delivery over copper (EoCu), over TDM (EoTDM) or optical facilities (EoF), both point-to-point and ring-based (ERPS, SNCP). In 2006, he joined ADTRAN from Nortel where for over a decade, he held various roles focused on marketing/managing new disruptive market opportunities.

Dr. Judy Reed Smith, CEO, Atlantic-ACM
Dr. Judy Reed Smith is CEO of ATLANTIC-ACM, the Boston base of a leading international consulting firm.  ATLANTIC-ACM was founded by Reed Smith in the 1980s to serve clients’ need for strategic research, financial planning and operational support.  The company is well known for their “Report Card” series of Customer Choice of best-in-class carrier and the connected awards for global wholesale, domestic wholesale, metro wholesale, business wireless and enterprise/SMB business services.  Reed Smith has worked with COMPTEL providing research, served on the board of the merged Telecommunications Resellers Association, and has presented awards to best-in-class industry players, and supported the association’s conferences for 20 years.  

 Carey Roesel, Vice President and Consultant, Technologies Management Inc. (TMI)
Carey Roesel is a vice president and consultant with TMI, which he joined in 1996. Roesel works with a wide variety of telecommunications carriers to obtain certification and manage ongoing regulatory issues. He also provides in-depth analysis regarding switched access services and rates, and works extensively on intercarrier compensation dispute resolution. Prior to joining TMI, Roesel worked for Sprint/United in business planning and regulatory roles. Roesel earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Florida and a Master’s of Arts in Economics from the University of Central Florida.
 

Eitan Schwartz, Vice President of Ethernet Access, RAD Data Communications Inc.
Eitan Schwartz is vice president of Ethernet Access at RAD, where he has been instrumental in developing the company’s carrier Ethernet strategy and in particular mobile backhaul over packet switched networks. Schwartz joined RAD Israel in 1991 as manager of technical support and later relocated to the United States where he served in such capacities as director of Technical Services and vice president of Engineering. He holds degrees in electrical engineering and computer science. Over the past 15 years, Schwartz has provided technical training in the areas of IP, Ethernet, frame relay, ATM, voice and TDM technologies.  He has written numerous white papers and presented at various forums, conferences and webinars.

James M. Smith, Of Counsel, Davis Wright Tremaine
With over 30 years experience as an attorney, telecommunications company executive and industry association leader, Jim Smith is a nationally recognized leader in telecommunications law and policy. Prior to joining Davis Wright in 2002, he held the position of vice president, Law and Public Policy of Excel Communications Inc., heading Excel’s Washington, D.C., policy office, supervising the company’s Regulatory Affairs department, and serving as the company’s chief public policy spokesman and strategist.  From 1990 until 1997, Smith was president of the Competitive Telecommunications Association (CompTel), where he led the U.S. competitive telecom industry’s advocacy culminating in the passage of the landmark Telecommunications Act of 1996.  Prior to his tenure at CompTel, he was a partner in the Washington law firms Reed Smith Shaw & McClay and Pierson, Ball & Dowd, where he represented domestic and foreign telecommunications carriers and manufacturers, television and cable program producers and studios, and broadcast, journalistic and telecom industry associations.

Kelly Sparks, Vice President, Development and Product Management, ComCloud Corporation
Kelly Sparks is a veteran technology executive, with over 23 years of diverse information technology executive level leadership. As vice president of Development and Product Management at ComCloud Corporation, he leads and directs the companies new White Label Cloud Services and Strategy. Previously, Sparks was chief architect at PacWest Telecomm, where he designed, build and launched a real-time telecomm cloud service called Telastic, which won TMC’s 2010 Product of the Year. Prior to PacWest, Sparks served as vice president of Product Development at LastMile Communications. He also has held a variety of senior executive roles including CTO at Vizual Corporation, president and CTO of World Theatre IPTV, and 11 years as a decorated sales leader at IBM. He has developed and authored over 25 patents and patent applications in identity management and digital media, and is currently managing partner at aPersona Inc., a pioneer in identity management technology developing innovative software to reduce fraud, identity theft and identity misuse. Sparks earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems from Southern Polytechnic State University.
 

Jim Steele, Director, Director, Delivery Management, ATG Consulting
Jim Steele is the director of Business Development for TeleSphere Software Inc. (TSI), a subsidiary of Blackfoot Telecommunications Group in Missoula, Mont. Steele joined TSI 11 years ago as a senior systems analyst and has moved up the ranks by merging his leadership and problem-solving skills with his ability to build client and vendor relationships. Steele has focused primarily on carrier access billing and related intercarrier billing issues since his entrance into telecom. He does consulting, dispute handling and usage analysis for companies across the country. Steele also is the primary architect of TeleSphere's Advantage CABS program and has been instrumental in the sales process as a consultant and technical analyst for companies that partner with TeleSphere. He is a member of the Billing Committee of the ATIS Ordering and Billing Forum, as well as other industry organizations. Steele earned a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from Montana State University and did graduate work at California State University.

Colby Synesael, Director and Senior Research Analyst, Cowen and Company
Colby Synesael is a director and senior research analyst specializing in the telecom and data services industries. Synesael has been covering the telecom and data services industry as a senior analyst since 2006. Prior to joining Cowen in March 2010, he was a senior vice president for Kaufman Brothers, and before that spent nearly three years in a similar role at Merriman Curhan Ford. From 2001 to January 2006, Synesael worked at Thomas Weisel Partners as a research associate, spending his last three years covering telecom services. Before joining Weisel, Synesael spent a brief time working at Allegiance Telecom. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York at Plattsburgh.

Mark Trinchero, Partner, Davis Wright Tremaine
Mark Trinchero focuses on telecommunications, representing clients before state and local regulatory agencies and legislative bodies in various states, and before the FCC. His clients include traditional wireless and wireline carriers, providers of wireless and fiber-based broadband service, and cable telephony companies. Trinchero conducts administrative litigation, including rulemakings, investigations, complaints, compliance filings and enforcement proceedings. He also lobbies on behalf of client interests before the Oregon state Legislature. Trinchero also was named as one of the “Best Lawyers in America” in Administrative Law by Woodward/White, annually from 2007 to present; and he was awarded in Communications Law from 2009 to present. Trinchero earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California, Hastings College of Law.

Bill Weber, General Counsel, Cbeyond
Bill Weber joined Cbeyond in 2006 as the company's first in-house counsel, and now serves as general counsel, leading the company's legal and regulatory departments. Before Cbeyond, Weber spent four years at Covad Communications, rising to vice president of Regulatory Affairs and Operations, leading regulatory and legislative affairs in 28 states. Weber graduated from the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor's degree in English and was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Marine Corps. During Operations Desert Shield and Storm, he served as a platoon commander and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal with Combat "V.” He then graduated from the University of Georgia law school, and spent three years defending Marines in numerous courts martial across the country. After leaving the Marine Corps as a Major in 1999, Weber taught law at the University of Georgia and practiced commercial litigation at a large Atlanta law firm before joining Covad.

Scott Widham, CEO, Alpheus Communications
Scott Widham is CEO of Alpheus Communications, a regional fiber optic network and data center business in Texas. Most recently, Widham served as CEO of Cobridge Communications, an owner and operator of cable television systems in the central portion of the United States. Prior to Cobridge,  Widham was CEO of Broadwing Communications, a billion dollar fiber and data center company offering voice, data and video services to enterprise and wholesale customers. Broadwing was acquired by Level 3 in 2008 for $1.6 billion. Prior to joining Broadwing, he was the founder and CEO of Capital Cable, a multi-system operator that owned cable systems across the U.S. and in Latin America, which was acquired by Charter Communications. He also served as executive vice president of Corecomm and was a director at MTV Networks. Widham earned a Bachelor degree in Business Administration from The University of Texas at Austin.

David Williams, Senior Vice President, MegaPath Wholesale
David Williams, senior vice president of MegaPath Wholesale, has been in the telecommunications industry for over 18 years bringing key strengths in sales and marketing, product strategy and customer operations. Williams has led MegaPath Wholesale in building the largest on-net Ethernet over Copper (EoC) footprint in the nation.  To date, over 80 of the country’s top telecommunications companies have deployed services based on MegaPath’s EoC platform. Williams joined MegaPath’s predecessor, Covad Communications, in 2006 where he held several senior sales and marketing positions leading up to becoming the general manager of the commercial division prior to taking his current role. Earlier in his career, Williams led the evolution from POTS to IP for a mid-size facilities-based CLEC and has built two successful startup telecommunications companies to profitability and successful exits.

Dr. Joseph Williams, Managing Director for SaaS Partner Channel, Microsoft
Dr. Joseph Williams is the managing director in the Hosting Service Providers organization for SaaS, including UCaaS at Microsoft.  Previously he was a senior director in the Lync product group’s Partner Engineering team and was responsible for integration engineering with service providers, as well as for the development and delivery of the Lync Hoster solutions. Other roles within Microsoft include serving as the CTO for Microsoft’s $20 billion enterprise sales organization, the CTO for Microsoft’s Global Accounts organization, and running a Microsoft Consulting Services team of solution architects.  Williams also ran Microsoft’s Deployment Council for a number of years and Microsoft’s Global Architecture Summit.

 Brad D. Worthington, Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President, NTS Communications Inc.
Brad Worthington has served as the COO and executive vice president of NTS Communications since 2000.  He is currently responsible for managing all operational functions at NTS, including plant design, construction and maintenance and overseeing all back office and OSS functions. Prior to assuming his current role, Worthington served as general counsel from 1990 to 2000, where he was responsible for advising senior staff on various legal and regulatory issues, preparation and review of contracts, contract and business development. Worthington earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Education from Texas State University in 1987 and his Doctor of Jurisprudence from Texas Tech University School of Law in 1990. He is licensed to practice law in the State of Texas and is a member of the State Bar of Texas, the American Bar Association, and the Lubbock County Bar Association. Worthington also is admitted to practice in Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas.

Gary Zimmerman, Senior Director of Marketing, Neustar
Gary Zimmerman is senior director of Marketing at Neustar.  He and his team deliver the educational and outbound marketing efforts for Carrier Services. He has more than 30 years of experience in telecommunications management in both the carrier and enterprise setting. Zimmerman spent 20 years at AT&T, where he developed ordering, billing and international clearinghouse systems.  He has successfully launched and managed products, including international data services for global 500 companies, a software-as-a-service offering in Japan, and data networking/security offerings for the mid-market. Prior to joining Neustar, Zimmerman was a vice president and founding member of an enterprise software company that grew into a $30 million dollar concern during his tenure.