Zayo’s Morche jumps ship, rejoins Level 3 on eve of CenturyLink merger

Edward Morche, a veteran telecom executive, is leaving Zayo after only a month to rejoin Level 3 as the service provider moves forward with the CenturyLink merger.

When he rejoins Level 3 on July 5, Morche will become president of strategic enterprise, federal government and state government.

In that role, Morche will have responsibility for large accounts, federal and state government, and large educational institutions and research networks.

RELATED: CenturyLink rounds out post-Level 3 deal management structure

Level 3
Edward Morche

Morche will report to Jeff Storey, who will serve as initially as the company’s COO before taking the CEO role in 2019. Morche's appointment is just one of many as Storey’s management team has taken shape.  

Morche said an enhanced compensation package and expanded scope of responsibility were the main reasons he decided to leave Zayo and return to Level 3.

Bringing Morche onto the expanded Level 3/CenturyLink team makes sense. During his initial tenure at Level 3, Morche was a key executive who oversaw the service provider's involvement in the General Service Administration's multibillion dollar Networx contract. Level 3 provided services to Networx under the Enterprise portion of the contract, while CenturyLink had a seat at the Enterprise and larger Universal contract via its acquisition of the former Qwest Communications. 

It's likely that Morche will play a big role in helping the new company get a big piece of Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions (EIS), the follow-on contract to Networx. 

Since Morche was only with Zayo for a short period, the company said little will change in the near-term. Max Clauson, a seasoned Zayo executive who led Zayo’s sales efforts over the quarters prior to Morche’s arrival, will continue to have overall responsibility for sales. He will lead the team as he had been doing previously.

Zayo’s net bookings for the March 2017 quarter were $6.9 million, which reflected a strong recovery from the December 2016 quarter. In Zayo’s recent earnings call, the company expressed confidence that this positive momentum would continue.

“Ed’s positive feedback on our sales situation matches my assessment,” said Andrew Crouch, president and COO at Zayo, in a release. “Unlike what is often the norm in telecom, Zayo’s major customers are pleased with the solutions provided by Zayo and the overall customer experience we deliver."