The Fiber Broadband Association elected its board of directors for 2022, bringing three newly elected members into the fold. While this news might usually fly below the radar, it is interesting to see what companies are taking the lead given how hot fiber is at the moment.
Indeed, FBA CEO Gary Bolton said in a statement its Board of Directors “plays a critical role in our effort to advance fiber deployment.” Pointing to an expected influx of broadband funding from the recently passed U.S. infrastructure bill, he added that heading into 2022 “there is a huge opportunity for our industry to close the digital equity gap for good, and our newly elected Board has the expertise to help our members navigate this opportunity successfully.”
Sitting at the helm of FBA’s board as chair for a one-year term will be Kevin Morgan, CMO of a company called Clearfield. Known under that name since 2008, Clearfield designs, manufactures and distributes fiber optic management products, including optical components, terminals, cable and drop assemblies and a modular fiber management platform. It primarily operates in the U.S, with sales operations extending to Canada, the Caribbean islands and Mexico.
Morgan previously spent 10 years as Vice Chairman of the FBA board. That role will now be filled by Joseph Jones, who is EVP of On Trac. A contract firm based in Tennessee, On Trac helps deploy fiber broadband, with expertise in fiber drops, splicing and both aerial and underground installations.
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FBA’s secretary will be new board member Jimmy Todd, who is CEO and GM of Nex-Tech. Nex-Tech is a fiber broadband provider which serves more than 45 communities, primarily in Kansas. Joe Jensen, director of Americas market development for well-known fiber vendor Corning will serve as FBA’s Treasurer.
Additional board members include Mark Boxer, technical manager of solutions and applications engineering at OFS; Scott Jackson, national market manager for Broadband at Graybar; and Ben Moncrief, SVP of strategic relations and managing director for the state of Alabama at C Spire.
Part of Furukawa Electric Company, OFS is a Georgia-based designer and manufacturer of optical fiber, optical fiber cable, connectivity, FTTX and specialty photonics solutions, with facilities in the U.S., China, Denmark, Germany and Russia. Graybar is a supply chain management service company. C Spire is a regional fixed and mobile operator which is the 8th largest fiber provider in the U.S.
As new members, Todd, Jackson and Moncrief will each serve three-year board terms starting in 2022.