Conexon introduces new leadership roles to support continued rapid growth and expansion across rural fiber broadband markets
Executive team expanded to include Chief Financial Officer, new senior roles in business development and internet service provider operations
KANSAS CITY, Mo., July 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rural fiber-optic network design and construction management leader, Conexon, announced additions to the rapidly growing company's executive team to include Chief Financial Officer, Matthew Blain, Senior Vice President of Business Development, Carl Meyerhoefer, and Vice President of Operations, Conexon Connect, David Girvan.
The new additions join an experienced team of telecommunications, cooperative and broadband veteran industry leaders as Conexon and its internet service provider arm, Conexon Connect, continue to increase their fiber-to-the-home footprint across rural America. Conexon now employs more than 300 professionals working to close the digital divide with fiber broadband. To date, the company has assisted over 200 electric cooperatives, over 50 of which are deploying fiber networks, and has connected nearly 500,000 rural Americans to world-class broadband.
Conexon was established in 2015 as a pioneering end-to-end solutions provider for electric cooperatives serving their members and communities with fiber to the home. Under the direction of Partners Randy Klindt and Jonathan Chambers, marked by nearly 50 combined years of industry-leading experience in cooperative FTTH initiatives, telecommunications funding and regulatory influence, the company has grown exponentially. Conexon has been recognized by numerous sources, including Inc. 500, as one of the fastest-growing private companies in the industry.
"At Conexon, we are committed to changing the face of rural America through world-class fiber broadband delivered affordably and efficiently. Our company's growth over the past six years demonstrates our dedication to this mission," Klindt said. "Welcoming thought leaders like Matthew, Carl, and David to our team builds on our existing expertise and furthers our efforts to create a new vision for rural fiber broadband deployment."
Blain is a versatile finance professional with nearly 20 years of diverse financial and operating experience that has included investment banking, corporate finance, management consulting, and most recently, consultant CFO services. He has played key roles in executing strategic growth plans for clients in a variety of industries including the energy and telecommunications sectors, from early-stage tech start-ups to mature manufacturing companies. Blain excels at identifying and implementing effective solutions across functional areas including financial modeling, analysis and planning, mergers & acquisitions, divestitures, capital sourcing, and strategic planning.
Meyerhoefer has been working in the telecommunications industry for over 25 years helping service providers successfully deploy fiber networks. In recent years, he has concentrated on developing greenfield emerging markets with a focus on electric utilities, and was an early advocate and catalyst for the electric cooperative broadband movement. Leveraging a strong knowledge of telecommunications technology and architectures coupled with keen understanding of customer and market needs, Meyerhoefer has successfully developed and grown over $300 million in new business revenue while working for industry-leading organizations such as CommScope and Calix.
Girvan joins Conexon from Missouri's United Electric Cooperative, where he served as Chief Operating Officer and led the co-op's successful entry into fiber broadband. Though United's electric service territory encompasses an area with less than 3 electric meters per mile, it successfully launched a fiber network to its members, and neighboring communities Girvan led United's success with a focus on aggressive deployment of commercial and residential fiber services through the co-op's subsidiary, United Fiber Under his leadership, the fiber business grew from a 7,000-member cooperative to one now serving nearly 20,000 members and customers with fiber broadband subsidizing the electric operation.
In 2021, Conexon Connect was launched as the ISP arm of Conexon to operate and manage cooperative and investor-owned fiber networks. The Connect model – in which the co-op builds and owns the network, enjoying the benefits of fiber on its infrastructure while leasing the fiber to Connect to deliver high-speed internet – simplifies the cooperative's role in launching and operating an FTTH network for its membership. Connect leverages the best practices learned from the Conexon team's decades of experience.
About Conexon
Conexon works with Rural Electric Cooperatives to bring fiber to the home in rural communities. The company is composed of professionals who have worked in electric cooperatives and the telecommunications industry, and offer decades of individual experience in business planning, building networks, marketing and selling telecommunications. Conexon offers its electric cooperative clients end-to-end broadband deployment and operations support, from a project's inception all the way through to its long-term sustainability. It works with clients to analyze economic feasibility, secure financing, design the network, manage construction, provide operational support, optimize business performance and determine optimal partnerships. To date, Conexon has assisted over 200 electric cooperatives, over 50 of which are deploying fiber networks. The company has designed over 200,000 miles of fiber and builds more than 35,000 miles annually, with approximately 500,000 rural Americans across the U.S. connected to fiber to the home. Overall, the company has secured more than $1.3 billion in federal and state funding to fund co-op fiber projects across the county.
SOURCE Conexon
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