At COO (Boardroom Media) we track over 1,000,000 startups and over 5,000,000 people who hold key positions in these companies. We use this directory of startups to highlight top employees, founders and board members we think deserve more appreciation than they are currently getting.
This list showcases the top United States based COO’ operating in the Communications Infrastructure space. If you think a COO’ is missing from this list, feel free to contact our editor on [email protected].
The individuals on this list have been included because of exceptional performance in one of the following categories:
- Innovation – Operating as a key part in an extremely innovative business or startup.
- Growth – Operating as a key figure in the growth and upscale of a market leading business or startup.
- Management – Showing exceptional management skills.
- Societal impact – Putting their business on the map for their positive societal or environmental impact.
Our Data – We source our data from OSINT (open source intelligence) and public directories such as Crunchbase, SemRush and many more. The data from these sources should be treated with a degree of caution and verified yourself.
Jared Fry
COO + Co-Founder of Collision Communications
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About Collision Communications: Collision Communications develops advanced multi-user detection, MIMO.
Pegah Ebrahimi
COO of Cisco Collaboration of Cisco
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About Cisco: Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, telecommunications equipment, and other technology services and products.
Surendra Saboo
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of Onvoy
Dr. Surendra Saboo has more than 28 years of telecommunications executive management experience. Prior to becoming the EVP and COO of Onvoy, Surendra was the CEO of the Telecom Services Division of Transaction Network Services (TNS). Preceding TNS, Surendra was the President and COO of Inteliquent where he was responsible for Sales, Product Management, Network Engineering and Operations, Service Delivery, Customer Care and Information Technology. Surendra started his career with AT&T in 1986 as a member of the technical staff at Bell Laboratories in Holmdel, NJ and then spent the next 14 years in a variety of operating areas, including research and development, engineering, product management, strategy, systems development and operations. He was instrumental in launching AT&T into local services after the Telecommunications Act of 1996. Surendra holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Birla Institute of Technology, India, and a M.S. and Ph.D. in Industrial and Systems Engineering from the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. He has also completed the Advanced Management Program from University of Hawaii.
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About Onvoy: Onvoy is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Communications Infrastructure Investments, LLC.
Jonathan Rand
COO / CFO of Straight Path Communications
Jonathan Rand has served as Chief Financial Officer of SPCI since June 2013, and as the Chief Operating Officer of our spectrum subsidiary, Straight Path Spectrum, Inc., since January 2015. Mr. Rand joined SPCI from Organic Motion, an innovative computer vision company where he served as President and Chief Operating Officer. Together with Organic Motion’s CEO, Mr. Rand was named Innovator of the Year by Popular Mechanics in 2008. In 2002, Mr. Rand co-founded Indigo Capital Advisers, a management consulting firm that provides sales and financing strategies and execution to software, Internet and telecommunications companies. From 1998 to 2001, Mr. Rand held key positions at Net2Phone, a spin-off from IDT Corporation, including EVP Sales, Treasurer and CEO of Net2Phone’s Y@P division. Mr. Rand was IDT’s EVP Sales & Finance and Treasurer from 1992 to 1998. Prior to joining IDT, Mr. Rand founded and later sold Campus Connection, a national magazine which achieved a circulation of 1.2 million. He started his career as a brand assistant at Procter & Gamble. Mr. Rand earned his B.S. in Economics from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
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About Straight Path Communications: Straight Path Communications is a forward thinking communications asset company.
Kevin Ott
COO and SVP Product Development of Formation
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About Formation: Formation distills customer data into uniquely tailored experiences; we orchestrate physical & digital exchanges into one seamless journey.
Samuel Jonas
CEO & COO of IDT Corporation
Mr. Samuel Jonas has been appointed as Chief Executive Officer, Chief Operating Officer of IDT Corp., effective December 31, 2013. Shmuel Jonas has served as Chief Operating Officer of the Company since June 2010. Shmuel Jonas joined the Company in June 2008 and served as a Vice President until June 2009, when he was elected to serve as the Company’s Vice President of Operations. Since 2004, Shmuel Jonas has also been the managing member of Arlington Suites, LLC, manager of a thirty million dollar mixed-use ground up development project in the Bronx, New York.
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About IDT Corporation: IDT Corporation enriches lives, providing communication, entertainment and financial services.
Jessica Shalek
Co-founder & COO of Common Networks
Jess is the COO and co-founder of Common Networks. Before Common Networks, she was the Head of Business Development and the developer platform Product Lead at Square. She was responsible for all product partnerships, growing Square from 0 partnerships to 30+ in 2.5 years. As product lead for Square’s developer platform she defined, product managed, and launched Square’s public API and developer tools. Prior to Square, Jess worked at Morgan Stanley technology investment banking for 6 years specializing in IPOs. She has a BA (magna cum laude) in Economics from Barnard College and Columbia University.
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About Common Networks: Common Networks is a wireless internet service provider that brings fiber-class internet to homes.
Shane Fernandes
Co-Founder, COO of KidzToPros
Shane leads the daily operations at KidzToPros, including product development and feature innovation. Shane loves sports (yeah…all of them!) – passion for sports is what makes this Father of 2 turn into a Soccer Dad 🙂 – always interested in learning new ways to improve existing ways for everything – adhoc is fun but but being process centric is his mantra!
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About KidzToPros: KidzToPros is a provider and marketplace for after school enrichment programs.
Bob Pollan
Chief Operating Officer of Unitas Global
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About Unitas Global: Unitas Global is a platform=based managed network service provider connecting edge to cloud everywhere.
Robert Fickett
President & COO of CPI International
Robert Fickett became President and Chief Operating Officer in March 2002. Prior to this, Mr. Fickett was a Co-Chief Operating Officer since October 2000 and Vice President since April 1998. Robert has also been the Division President of the Microwave Power Products Division since April 1998. From January 1996 to April 1998, Robert was Vice President of Operations for the Microwave Power Products Division. From 1993 until January 1996, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of Altair Technologies, Inc., a contract manufacturer. From 1982 until 1993, Robert held a number of positions with Varian Associates, Inc., including Engineering Manager of the Microwave Power Products Division’s Klystron Engineering Group, to which he was promoted in 1989. Robert received a B.S. degree in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.
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About CPI International, CPI International: CPI International provider of microwave, radio frequency, power and control solutions for critical defense.
Andrew M Gayle
Chief Operating Officer of GTA
Andrew Gayle has 18 years of experience in the telecommunications and information technology field in Guam, including stints at GUAMCELL Communications, ComputerLand of Guam, and Pacific Data Systems. Andrew joined GTA in 2005 and was tasked with building, launching, and operating the GSM network, which debuted in January of 2006. Gayle graduated from Harvard University with a bachelor’s degree in Computer, Electrical, and Systems Engineering.
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About GTA: GTA is a Telecommunications provider offering wireless,Internet and Digital Television services on Guam.
Vasili Triant
Chief Operating Officer of ujet.cx
As UJET’s Chief Operating Officer, Vasili Triant oversees all Go To Market activities including Sales, Channel, Alliances, and Customer Success. Triant brings more than 20 years of experience in Telecoms, Unified Communications (UC), and Contact Center industries, having previously served as VP/GM of Contact Center at Cisco, where he achieved the fastest growth in over a decade through a focus on global alliances and enterprise cloud-readiness.
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About Cisco, ujet.cx: UJET, Inc. is the world’s first and only CCaaS 3.0 cloud contact center provider.
Richard Goodwin
Chief Operating Officer of Fybr
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About Fybr: Fybr’s IoT platform is turnkey solution that delivers actionable and reliable data in even the harshest environments.
Richard Goodwin
Chief Operating Officer of Fybr
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About Fybr: Fybr’s IoT platform is turnkey solution that delivers actionable and reliable data in even the harshest environments.
Patrick Sullivan
COO & Co-Founder of 2600Hz
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About 2600Hz, YPO: 2600Hz is a Unified Communications VoIP platform for Small Businesses, Resellers and Enterprise clients
Amy Sherwood
Vice President/Chief Operating Officer of International Association of Privacy Professionals
In her role as vice president Amy Sherwood manages operations for the IAPP. As part of the leadership team she helps develop the IAPP strategy andensures the functional rhythm of the organization. She is responsible for oversight of the Events, Membership, Publications, Certification/Training and Marketing Departments. Today, Sherwood is focused on global services, new marketing and the IAPP’s operational platform for its growth into the next decade. A special area of emphasis also includes IAPP culture and values. Prior to joining the IAPP, Sherwood worked at the Markle Foundation in New York and Strawbery Banke Museum in New Hampshire. Sherwood has a BS in communications from the Park School of Communications, Ithaca College, and a BA from the Culinary Institute of America. She is a Certified Meeting Professional (CMP) as well as a Certified Information Privacy Professional (CIPP) and Certified Information Privacy Manager (CIPM). Sherwood has been a big sister through Big Brothers, Big Sisters for over a decade and currently serves as a board member and treasure of the Greater Newburyport Mothers and Families Club, and is an Education Committee member of the New England Society of Association Executives.She lives with her husband and son in Massachusetts where she is actively involved in school advocacy and local politics. For fun she cooks and stirs the pot as a moderator on her city’s social media hub.
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About International Association of Privacy Professionals: IAPP a not-for-profit association with more than 16,000 members across 83 countries, focused on education and certification.
Simon Rakosi
Co-Founder / COO of Butterfly.ai
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About Butterfly.ai: Making executive coaching accessible to every manager
Keith Johnson
COO & EVP of SpeedCast
Mr. Johnson has been in key leadership roles in the satellite communication industry for over 25 years. He began his career with AT&T, then IWL Communications, his own company Transworld Telecom, followed by CapRock Communications, who was acquired by Harris Corporation where he was President of Energy for 6 years. He began with SpeedCast in October 2014 to establish and lead their Energy division. Since Mr. Johnson’s arrival at SpeedCast, the company has formed a US legal entity, begun hiring key employees with Energy experience, and has been established as a key global Service Provider among the Energy customers.
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About SpeedCast: SpeedCast is a leading satellite telecommunications service provider that offers high-quality managed networks services.
Pete Furness
Chief Operating Officer of ACI Solutions
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About ACI Solutions: Founded in 2001, AfGlobe Communications Inc. (doing business as ACI Solutions Inc.) is a Secure Cloud and Infrastructure Service.
Donald Workman
Co-Founder/COO & Chairman of the Board of Rural Telecommunications of America
Donald Workman is a Co-Founder, COO, and the Chairman of the Board at Rural Telecommunications of America.
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About Rural Telecommunications of America: Rural Telecommunications of America provide affordable quality broadband to rural areas.