[DZS NEWS] DZS Further Transforms Economics of Optical Edge with Launch of Saber 2200 Coherent xHaul Ethernet Switch

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Charlie Vogt
Charlie
Misty Kawecki
Misty
Daniel
Daniel
Gunter Reiss
Gunter

Miguel

Laura
Misty Kawecki
Justin
Raghu
Raghu
 
DZS Executive Leadership Team
Charlie Vogt

President & Chief Executive Officer

Charlie VogtCharlie Vogt is the CEO of DZS, a global leader in Broadband Connectivity, 5G Optical Transport and Software Defined Networking serving more than 700 Communications Service Providers. DZS marquee service provider customers include AT&T, Etisalat, KDDI, KT, LGU+, Lumen, Rakuten, SKB, Softbank, and TELUS and is publicly traded on the Nasdaq under the stock symbol DZSI.

Vogt has spent his professional career executing visionary strategies resulting in unprecedented growth in communications markets. Prior to DZS, Vogt served as Chairman and CEO of ATX Networks, a global leader in HFC, Broadband Access and Media Distribution solutions to more than 200 MSO Cable and Communication Companies including Comcast, Charter, Cox, Altice, Liberty Global and Dish.

Before that, Vogt was CEO of Imagine Communications, a global leader of Broadband Access, Media Content and Networking solutions to more than 1,500 TV Networks, Broadcasters, MSOs and New Media spanning 185 countries. During Vogt’s tenure, he was instrumental in leading a transformation from its 40-year legacy Baseband technology to a cloud virtualized software defined networking IP architecture. He also created an Innovation Advisory Board (IAB) representing the industry’s luminary CTOs and Operations leaders, founded the Alliance for IP Multimedia Solutions and partnered with Disney to become the first global media company to move to the cloud.

From 2004 to 2013, Vogt served as CEO of GENBAND (today Ribbon Communications), a global leader in Access Networking and Optical Transport solutions. During Vogt’s nine-year tenure as CEO, the company acquired and integrated ten companies, expanded its operations to more than 50 countries and secured 80 percent of the world’s largest service providers as customers. Under his leadership, 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-backed company in America, topping a list of 5,900 companies.

In 2002, Vogt was brought on to lead emerging VoIP company Taqua, marking his first stint as chief executive officer. In 2004, Taqua was acquired by then Tekelec (today, part of Oracle) delivering a 4x return to shareholders. Before joining Taqua, Vogt was instrumental in the operational and financial growth of four standard-setting technology companies including Accelerated Networks/Calix, ADTRAN and Ascend Communications that either became public companies or were acquired. Following Lucent Technologies’ $20 billion acquisition of Ascend Communications in 1999, Vogt became part of the sales leadership team responsible for ~$3.5 billion.

Vogt is an active public speaker and has received numerous awards for his leadership and corporate accomplishments including EY’s “Entrepreneur of the Year,” Light Reading’s “Person of the Year,” Dallas MTBC’s “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 Open Bell with Maria Bartiromo, CNBC Squawk Box, Fox Business Closing Bell with Liz Claman and CEO Spotlight with KRLD David Johnson.

Misty Kawecki

Chief Financial Officer

Misty KaweckiMisty Kawecki serves as Chief Financial Officer of DZS, bringing over 24 years of finance and accounting experience to the CFO role.

Previously, Ms. Kawecki served as CFO and Head of Operations for MediaKind and prior to that, she was VP, Finance and Corporate Controller at Imagine Communications. She also served as Senior Vice President, Finance and Corporate Controller at GENBAND and Senior Director, WW Revenue Controller at McAfee (Intel). She started her career at Big 4 accounting firm EY.

Ms. Kawecki has a Master of Science degree in Accounting from Texas Tech University. She is a Certified Public Accountant in the state of Texas.

Daniel Won

Chief Operating Officer - Asia

Daniel WonDaniel Won serves as Chief Operating Officer – Asia, and previously served as Chief Customer Officer – Asia, Chief Product Officer at DZS and President of DNS Korea in connection with the Merger of Zhone Technologies and DASAN Networks.

Mr. Won brings over thirty years of experience in the telecommunications marketplace across several disciplines, including executive management, engineering and sales. Prior to his roles with DZS, Mr. Won held various executive positions at LG and Cisco Systems.

Mr. Won holds an MBA from KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), and a BS from Seoul National University.

Gunter Reiss

Chief Customer Officer - AEMEA

Gunter ReissGunter Reiss serves DZS as Chief Customer Officer – Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa (AEMEA), and previously served as Chief Marketing Officer at DZS. Most recently, Mr. Reiss was Vice President of Worldwide Marketing at A10 Networks where he positioned the company as a technology leader in 5G, cloud, and cybersecurity solutions.

Prior to A10, he held business development, strategy, M&A, and strategic sales leadership roles at Ericsson, IPC and DAMOVO Group. Mr. Reiss brings in-depth expertise in cloud, SaaS, AI, cybersecurity, and application networking to DZS.

Miguel Alonso

Chief Product Officer

Miguel AlonsoMiguel Alonso serves as Chief Product Officer at DZS. In this role, Mr. Alonso is responsible for product strategy, product management, technology, quality and engineering across the Access Edge, Home Edge, Mobile & Optical Edge and Cloud Software teams.

Before joining DZS, Mr. Alonso served as Vice President of Cloud Products at Calix, where he led the company’s transformation from hardware products to cloud, software, and systems platforms. Mr. Alonso has also served in multiple senior product management, marketing, and sales executive positions at Nortek Control, mandal.ai, and Advanced Fibre Communications (AFC).

Mr. Alonso holds an Engineering Degree in Telecommunications from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (Spain).

Laura Larsen-Misunas

Chief People Officer

Laura Larsen-Misunas serves as Chief People Officer for 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

Chief Legal Officer

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.

Raghu Marthi

Chief Operating Officer

Raghu MarthiRaghu Marthi serves DZS as Chief Operating Officer, bringing 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.

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