Electric Lightwave did not have to look to far find a new CTO to lead, tapping the company's own Stephen Fisher to fill the position.
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Fisher served as Electric Lightwave’s CTO for the past three months, leading the engineering design and network planning organization and overseeing the company’s network architecture. Reporting directly to Marc Willency, Electric Lightwave’s CEO, Fisher will be responsible for overall network strategy that will include continued expansion of network routes in the Southwest in 2017.
Before his assignment as the new CTO, Fisher served as VP of network planning and security, where he managed network planning, engineering, architecture, cyber security operations, crisis management and cloud operations.
A 20-year telecom industry veteran, Fisher has been with Electric Lightwave and its predecessor company, Integra, for 16 years and played a large role in designing and creating the company’s security solutions, as well as driving excellence in operations, provisioning and engineering.
Fisher’s move to become CTO comes at a transitional time for the company. In August, Electric Lightwave reestablished its brand as parent Integra Telecom Holdings split itself into two standalone businesses –Electric Lightwave and Integra.
Earlier, Integra brought back the Electric Lightwave brand, one it acquired nearly a decade ago, but the network was mainly used as a backhaul mechanism for Integra’s small to medium business customers.
Electric Lightwave can now focus on its more profitable higher-end customer base of enterprise customers, including government and education organizations, and on growing its base of wholesale service provider customers in the wireless segment.