Kentucky-based wholesale and business fiber provider Accelecom hired telecom veteran Brad Kilbey to take the reins as CEO as it looks to kick growth into high gear following the recent acquisition of new network assets.
Kilbey most recently served as SVP of Sales at Zayo Group, leading the company’s efforts targeting the public sector, heathcare, education, transportation and energy markets. In his five years at Zayo, he also served as SVP of Zayo Networks’ East Region. Prior to joining Zayo, Kilbey also spent more than a year at Windstream as VP and GM of federal markets and nearly 13 years in various sales roles at Level 3 Communications. His early career saw him spend nearly 8 years at MCI (which was later acquired by Verizon).
Though the move is a step up the ladder for Kilbey, it is a step down in terms of company size – something his appointment is apparently designed to change.
Accelecom is owned by Australian investment firm Macquarie Capital and was founded in 2021 as the exclusive wholesaler of services from Kentucky’s state-owned middle mile network, known as KentuckyWired. Last month, the company acquired regional broadband provider Georgia Public Web (GPW) to extend its network reach to the south. It now serves both Kentucky and Georgia, as well as parts of Alabama, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee.
The company offers a range of services including dedicated internet access, Ethernet, unified communication as a service (UCaaS) and disaster recovery. Accelecom primarily targets the agriculture, education, enterprise, healthcare, operator and public sector markets.
"As Accelecom ramps up new services in the GPW territories and continues to unleash business innovation and economic development in Kentucky, Brad brings vast experience and vision to guide the next phase of the company's exciting journey," said Andrew Ancone, managing director for Macquarie Capital.
Kilbey replaces David Flessas, who has led Accelecom since its founding. Flessas previously spent 8 years at Time Warner Cable and 17 years at Sprint.
In February, Accelecom hired Kathryn Breiwa Robertson – Mitt Romney’s former director of external relations – as its new director of business development.