Broadband network design and construction company Congruex appointed former Lumen Technologies executive Neel Dev as its new CFO, tapping him to replace current finance chief Andy Carlson. A company representative told Fierce Dev will help support "the accelerated scaling of our business in 2023" through both organic and inorganic growth opportunities.
Founded in 2017 with backing from by private equity firm Crestview Partners, Congruex provides market feasibility studies, design, network engineering and construction services for broadband deployments in the U.S. While engineering services are available nationwide, its construction footprint is currently focused on the Pacific Coast, Rocky Mountain, Central, South Central, Midwest and Southeast parts of the country. Major clients include the likes of AT&T, Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, Google, TDS Telecom and Verizon.
Dev will step into his new role at Congruex on November 29. The position is his first since he abruptly left Lumen in March after serving as CFO there four about four years. As at Lumen, his duties at Congruex will include oversight of financial planning, tax, treasury, investor relations, procurement and supply chain management.
Meanwhile, Carlson, who has served as Congruex’s CFO since April 2019, will assume a new position as EVP of Corporate Development and M&A. Before joining Congruex, Carlson spent more than five years at Zayo serving first as a corporate development associate and then CFO of co-locaiton and cloud infrastructure.
It seems the choice of Dev for CFO and Carlson’s transition to a deal-related role come as Congruex plots more M&A activity to flesh out its capabilities. The company struck seven acquisition deals in 2021 and inked two more earlier this year to scoop up wireless structural engineering company Tower Engineering Solutions and fiber trenching provider Sorensen Companies. The latter transaction marked Congruex's 18th acquisition since its formation in 2017. All told, the company representative said Congruex has made 21 acquisitions to date.
"We will continue to look for design or build companies that further diversify our services, clients, and geography in the broadband and wireless network arena," the representative said. "Our goal is to further solidify our position as the nation’s best digital network services provider."
Bill Beans, Congruex co-founder and CEO, added in a statement, Carlson will be “laser-focused on identifying and capitalizing on opportunities that will take our platform to the next level."
And Dev, of course, has experience striking some major deals. He was at the financial helm in 2021 when Lumen inked back-to-back deals to sell its Latin America assets for $2.7 billion and ILEC assets in 20 states for $7.5 billion. However, he left before either transaction closed.
Beans said Dev’s "extensive industry M&A, operational scaling and leadership experience makes him an ideal fit as we look to accelerate our continued growth. We look forward to benefitting from his strategic acumen as we expand our services for clients and provide connectivity to communities nationwide."
This story has been updated with comments from a Congruex representative.