Leadership

Charlie Vogt has spent his professional career executing visionary strategies resulting in unprecedented growth in the broadband networking and software defined networking market segments.

Vogt is currently the CEO of DZS, a global leader in broadband networking, connectivity and cloud software solutions serving more than 250 Communication Service Providers with more than 20 million products deployed and 50 million software license subscriptions around the world.  DZS represents marquee Service Provider such as Lumen, Brightspeed, TDS, UScelluar, Windstream, Consolidated Communications, Boingo, Coca-Cola, Telus, Bell Canada, DT, Orange, Telefonica, Vodafone, Sky, Freedom Fibre, NBN, Telstra, Aussie Broadband, Etisalat, STC, Mobily.  DZS is publicly traded on the Nasdaq (DZSI).

Under Vogt’s leadership the company has executed company-wide product innovation, people, and systems transformation; executed $100 million follow-on equity offering; four technology acquisitions, (Optelian, RIFT, CloudCheck/Expresse and NetComm) and record 2022 sales financial results of $400M Orders (62%^), $375M Revenue (15%^), and $304M Backlog (217%^).

Prior to DZS, Vogt was the Chairman and CEO of ATX Networks, a global leader in cable HFC, access networking and media distribution solutions serving more than 100 MSO Cable and Communication Companies including Comcast, Charter, Cox, Altice, Liberty Global, NBN and Dish. Prior to ATX Networks, Vogt was the CEO of Imagine Communications, a global leader of Media Content, Playout and Networking solutions serving more than 1,000 TV Networks, Broadcasters, MSOs, and new Media Providers spanning 100countries. After joining Harris Broadcast in July 2013, Vogt restructured, integrated, and rebranded the company – creating Imagine Communications and GatesAir; acquired three technology companies; launched the industry’s first XaaS for video playout and unified distribution; secured the industry’s first IP cloud playout network with Disney; founded Alliance for IP Multimedia Solutions; and increased sales by more than 50% andearnings by more than 400 percent.

In 2004, Vogt became the President and CEO of GENBAND (Ribbon Communications), which over the next 9 years, grew from a start-up to more than $700 million in annual revenue and became a global leader of access networking and real-time communication solutions. During Vogt’s nine-year tenure as CEO, the company acquired and integrated ten companies including Nortel VoIP business unit, expanded its operations to more than 50 countries and secured 80 percent of the world’s largest service providers as customers. During Vogt’s tenure, the company experienced a compound annual growth rate of 110 percent and increased operational earnings 9-fold.  In 2012, The Wall Street Journal recognized GENBAND as the no. 1 privately backedcompany in America, topping a list of 5,900 companies. Vogt’s first CEO role was in 2002 with an emerging VoIP company, Taqua Systems. Two years later, in 2004, Taqua was acquired by then Tekelec (today, part of Microsoft) delivering a 4x return to shareholders.

Earlier in Vogt’s career, he was instrumental in the operational and financial growth of four standard-setting technology companies including Accelerated Networks (Calix), ADTRAN and Ascend Communications (Nokia). Following Lucent Technologies’ $20 billion acquisition of Ascend Communications in 1999, Vogt became part of the leadership team reporting to then President Carly Fiorina.

Vogt has been an active public speaker and has received numerous awards for his leadership and corporate accomplishments including EY’s “Entrepreneur of the Year,” Dallas’ Tech Titans “Corporate CEO of the Year,” Global Telecoms’ “Power 100,” Inc. 500 “Fastest-Growing Private Companies” and Saint Louis University’s “Hall of Fame.”

Vogt has been featured on Bloomberg TV with Kailey Leinz, Bloomberg Radio with Alisa Parenti, PBS’s CEO with Lee Cullum, Fox Business with Maria Bartimora, CNBC Squawk Box, Fox Business Closing Bell with Liz Claman and CEO Spotlight with KRLD David Johnson.

Board of Director Roles

Brian Chesnut serves as Interim Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer of DZS Inc. Mr. Chesnut brings to the company nearly 15 years of experience driving strategic initiatives, optimizing financial operations, and leading high-performing teams across various industries.

Prior to DZS, he was the Vice President and Corporate Controller at Continental Battery Systems, a $1B U.S. distribution company, where he oversaw global accounting operations across the U.S. and Canada. Mr. Chesnut has held senior management positions at Jacobs Engineering Group and OneMain Financial. He began his career at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP.

Mr. Chesnut holds a Master of Accounting and a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and Finance from the University of Utah, where he graduated cum laude. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant in both Texas and Utah and is fluent in Spanish.

Philip Bednarz serves as Chief Product Officer at DZS, responsible for product strategy, product management, technology, quality and engineering across our Network, Connectivity and Cloud Automation and Orchestration solutions teams. Previously he served as SVP of Cloud Edge at DZS and as EVP of Product Development at ASSIA from February 2007 to May 2022. Mr. Bednarz’s prior roles include VP of Engineering at 2Wire and 8×8.

Mr. Bednarz holds a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and a BS in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan.

Scott St. John serves as Chief Customer Officer at DZS, responsible for leading global sales for the company. Mr. St. John has an extensive track record over the past 25 years leading global sales, marketing and customer service functions for public and private companies from start-up to nearly $1B in revenue. Prior to DZS, he served as Chief Sales Officer for ADVA until its merger with Adtran.  Mr. St. John has also held senior sales leadership positions with several high-growth technology companies including MRV, Overture Networks, Larscom and others. He started his career at AT&T/Lucent.

Mr. St. John has a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Economics from Syracuse University, which he completed in 1991.

Raghu Marthi serves as Chief Operating Officer at DZS. Mr. Marthi brings 25 years of experience in information technology to the company through leadership of complex company-wide application development, data management, technology infrastructure, data center operations and telecommunication networks worldwide.

Prior to DZS, Mr. Marthi was Chief Information Officer at MediaKind, responsible for information technology and digital strategy spanning applications, data, cybersecurity and infrastructure. He has also held a variety of management and technical leadership positions at Hewlett Packard, PricewatershouseCoopers, HCL and Dresser Industries.

Mr. Marthi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Mathematics, a Master’s degree in Computer Science and earned his MBA from SC Johnson Graduate School Management at Cornell University, Ithaca NY.

Laura Larsen-Misunas serves as Chief People Officer at DZS. Mrs. Larsen-Misunas has held several progressively advancing administration and human resources management roles since joining DZS, with more than twenty years of experience in the telecommunications industry.

Most recently at Ascend Communications, she established the company’s first Risk Management department, managing day to day cash, long term investments, and the foreign exchange program. Prior to Ascend, Mrs. Larsen-Misunas was a successful account manager and executive in the financial and insurance industries, having worked for Marsh and Willis.

Mrs. Larsen-Misunas holds a B.S. in Marketing from California State University San Francisco.

Justin Ferguson serves as Chief Legal Officer at DZS, responsible for the company’s global legal activities and policies. In addition, Mr. Ferguson serves as Corporate Secretary to the Board of Directors and is responsible for all corporate governance matters and brings more than 20 years of legal experience which includes advising companies in the telecom, technology and cloud security space.

Prior to joining DZS, Mr. Ferguson was Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary to Ribbon Communications Inc. Prior to Ribbon, Mr. Ferguson served as Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Zix Corporation, a Nasdaq listed company that provides email and cloud security solutions. Mr. Ferguson began his career as a corporate attorney at the law firms of Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Baker Botts L.L.P.

Mr. Ferguson received a Juris Doctorate degree from Texas Tech University School of Law and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Texas Tech University. He is a member of the State Bar of Texas.