Recognized Leaders in Telecom and Data Networking
Focused exclusively on helping telecommunications services providers deliver a rich set of IP-based information, communication, and entertainment services over access networks built to be operated at the lowest possible cost, Calix has assembled a world-class senior management team from a broad variety of successful telecom and datacom companies.
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Carl Russo, President and Chief Executive Officer
Carl is president and CEO of Calix and a member of the board of directors. Carl has over 25 years of experience in the networking and telecommunications industries. Prior to taking an active role with Calix in December, 2002, Carl was a member of the Calix board of directors. Before that, Carl was vice president of optical strategy and group vice president of optical networking for Cisco. Carl joined Cisco in 1999 as a result of the acquisition of Cerent Corporation, where he was president and CEO. Before Cerent, Carl was COO at Xircom (later acquired by Intel), where he was responsible for sales, marketing, development, and manufacturing of all Xircom products. Carl has also held executive management positions at Network Systems Corporation (later acquired by StorageTek) and at AT&T Paradyne. At Network Systems, Carl was the senior vice president and general manager for the Hyperchannel Networking Group, and at AT&T Paradyne he was vice president and general manager of the data networking products division. Carl sits on the board of directors for the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS). Carl is an alumnus of Swarthmore College and serves on its board of trustees.
Roger Weingarth, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Roger is executive vice president and COO for Calix. In this role, Roger leads all product, field, and manufacturing operations. Roger has over 27 years of experience in the networking and telecommunications industries. Prior to joining Calix in March, 2003, Roger was president and CEO at Arista Networks, a developer of wavelength management solutions for optical core networks. Before Arista, Roger was president and COO at Optical Solutions, where he successfully grew the organization to meet the demands of the emerging FTTP market. Roger has held senior management roles in operations and quality assurance with Centron, Switched Network Technologies, and Network Systems Corporation. In addition, Roger has held various management positions within ATT/NCR Corporation. Roger holds a BA from Bethel College and an MBA from the University of Minnesota. He is also certified by the American Production and Inventory Control Society in production and inventory management.
John Colvin, Vice President, Field Operations
John is vice president of field operations for Calix. John is responsible for all customer-facing functions, including sales, field marketing, and customer support. John has over 23 years of experience in the networking and telecommunications industries. Before joining Calix in April, 2004, John was senior director of business development at Cisco, where he assisted in driving overall sales strategy and portfolio direction in the global service provider market. John joined Cisco in 1999 as a result of the acquisition of Cerent Corporation, where he was director of national carrier sales. Prior to Cerent, John was account vice president for AT&T at Alcatel. During the first half of his eight-year career with Alcatel, John was the manager responsible for day-to-day engineering activities, sales support, and program management of projects with AT&T, MCI, and Sprint. John joined Alcatel through its acquisition of Rockwell International, where he was a systems engineer. Earlier, John was an engineer with NEC America. John has a BS in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University.
Mark Dressler, Vice President, Major Account Sales
Mark is vice president of major account sales for Calix. Mark leads sales groups focused on tier-one and tier-two US service providers as well as all service providers in the Caribbean and South America. Before joining Calix, Mark held a variety of senior sales, marketing, and business development roles at Nortel, most recently serving as director of market development for broadband networks. Prior to Nortel, Mark held various senior engineering and management positions in the software industry. Mark holds a BS in electrical engineering from Purdue University.
Ken Grelck, Vice President Regional Sales, East and Canada
Ken is vice president of regional sales for Calix focused on the Eastern US and Canada. Ken is responsible for all direct sales activities with service providers in these regions. Ken brings a wealth of experience in leading sales organizations in the telecommunications, networking and services industry. Prior to Calix, Ken was a 22 year veteran of Nortel, where he held numerous vice presidential roles, including leadership of North America sales and services, major account sales, Americas sales and marketing, and Sprint sales. Ken holds a BS degree in business administration from the University of New York, an MBA from Campbell University, and served 4-years in the US Air Force.
Skip Hirvela, Vice President Regional Sales, West
Skip is vice president of regional sales for Calix focused on the Western US. Skip is responsible for all direct sales activities with service providers in this region. A 20 year veteran of the telecommunications and networking industry, Skip previously was a regional sales manager at Calix, leading targeted sales teams to market leadership positions across numerous geographies. Prior to Calix, Skip held numerous sales and marketing roles at the director or manager level at a variety of telecommunications firms, including Myrio, NetworkTwo Communications, DecisionOne, Reltec, and AT&T Global Information Systems. Skip holds a BS degree in business administration from Miami University and an MBA from the University of Dayton.
Robert Checketts, Vice President, Field Marketing
Robert is vice president of field marketing for Calix. Robert is responsible for all aspects of outbound customer facing marketing. A 25 year veteran of computer and networking industry, Robert has led field, channel, and product marketing activities for a wide range of products, from hardware to software and from desktop applications to network remote access concentrators. Prior to Calix, he served as director of Americas marketing at Juniper Networks. Before Juniper, Robert was a senior manager of product marketing at Cisco. Robert has also led marketing teams at Lucent Technologies, Sun Microsystems, and Novell. Robert received his BA in marketing from the University of Utah.
Kelyn Brannon-Ahn, Chief Financial Officer
Kelyn is CFO for Calix and responsible for all finance, compliance, legal, human resources, and information technology functions. A 20-year finance veteran, Kelyn joined Calix in April, 2008 from Calypso Technology, where she held the role of chief financial officer. Prior to Calypso, Kelyn was CFO at Arzoon and CEO of Studio Systems Inc. (Creative Planet). Previously, Kelyn was at Amazon.com, where she was chief accounting officer, vice president of finance, and CFO of Amazon's international division. She has also held senior finance positions at Sun Microsystems, Lexmark International, and Ernst & Young, and is a Certified Public Accountant. Brannon-Ahn holds a BA in political science from Murray State University, Kentucky, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
Kevin Pope, Senior Vice President, Product Development
As senior vice president, product development, Kevin is responsible for all aspects of the company's product development and product strategy. An industry veteran, he has more than 20 years of experience in engineering management and product development. Before joining Calix, Kevin was vice president of engineering for Hammerhead Systems and co-founder and vice president of engineering for Mahi Networks. Before founding Mahi Networks, he served as vice president of development engineering for Applied Digital Access. Kevin has held roles in marketing and design at ASEA HAFO and as a member of the technical staff at AT&T Bell Labs. Kevin has a BSEE from the University of Minnesota, an MSEE/CS from the University of California at Berkeley, and an MBA from San Diego State University.
Todd Ortberg, Senior Vice President, Business and Market Development
Todd is senior vice president of business and market development for Calix. Todd has 24 years of experience across the communications, networking, and software industries. Before joining Calix, he was president and CEO of network software technology vendor Alvarri. Prior to Alvarri, Todd was managing director of Coral Capital Management, where he led communications investments in dozens of venture backed companies. Todd has also held leadership roles at ADC Telecommunications, where he served as vice president and general manager of its Cable Access Systems division and vice president of engineering. Prior to ADC Todd held numerous marketing and engineering management positions with Rockwell International and Texas Instruments, and was an adjunct faculty member at Upper Iowa University, where he taught Business Strategy. Todd has an MBA from the University of Iowa and a Bachelor of Science in Engineering from Iowa State University.
Tony Banta, Senior Vice President, Manufacturing Operations
Tony is senior vice president of manufacturing operations for Calix with responsibility for all aspects of worldwide manufacturing and supply chain operations. Before joining Calix in September 2005, Tony held a variety of senior manufacturing positions at Cisco, including vice president of worldwide operations. Tony joined Cisco as a result of its acquisition of Grand Junction Networks, where he was vice president of manufacturing. Previously, Tony held senior management positions with Vitalink Communications and Teledyne MEC. Tony has a BS in aeronautics from San Jose State College, an MS in aeronautical engineering from Wichita State University, an MBA from Golden Gate University, and served ten years in the U.S. Air Force.
Omar Ramadan, Vice President, Customer Service
Omar is vice president of customer service for Calix. He has over 15 years of customer service experience in the networking and telecommunications industries. Omar oversees all aspects of customer support, training, documentation, and web-based tools. Prior to joining Calix, Omar was with Advanced Fibre Communications (AFC) working in a number of support-related positions, most recently as director of technical services. At AFC, Omar was responsible for building a technical organization that supported over 750 North American service providers. Before AFC, Omar managed installation activities of outside plant loop electronics at DSC (now part of Alcatel). Omar earned a BS in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University.
Denis Quinlan, General Counsel
Denis Quinlan is general counsel for Calix. Denis oversees all legal and regulatory aspects of Calix's business. Denis has over 20 years of diverse experience in the practice of law. Prior to joining Calix, Denis served as senior counsel to Motorola, Inc., supporting its Wireline Access Networks businesses. He had rejoined Motorola via its acquisition of Next Level Communications, Inc., where he served as associate general counsel. Denis spent time abroad as general counsel to Cesky Mobil, a wireless telecommunications operator in the Czech Republic. Before that, he served a prior term with Motorola, where he helped build that company's extensive portfolio of ownership interests in international wireless operating companies. He has also worked as counsel to insurance-industry giant Aon Corporation and as a litigator with the law firm of Baker & McKenzie. Denis is a graduate of Loyola University of Chicago (BA in English), and received his JD from the University of Illinois College of Law.
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