Leading Executives in Local Telephone Carriers

John Stankey

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, AT&T

Chairman and CEO steering AT&T’s back‑to‑basics transformation around fiber and wireless; elected Board Chair on February 14, 2025, while pushing cultural and operational changes that markets have rewarded. Sources: AT&T release; Business Insider profile, Aug 2025.

Company bio | LinkedIn | Company X/Twitter

Hans Vestberg

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Verizon Communications

Architect of Verizon’s 5G strategy and the $53B C‑band spectrum buildout; chairman since 2019 and CEO since 2018, leading nationwide 5G for mobility and home internet. Source: Verizon bio.

Company bio | Company LinkedIn | Company X/Twitter

Kate Johnson

President & Chief Executive Officer, Lumen Technologies

President & CEO leading Lumen’s enterprise‑first turnaround, including major debt restructuring and multibillion‑dollar private connectivity deals tied to AI demand. Sources: Lumen executive bio; Reuters/Investopedia coverage of $5B+ in new business.

Company bio | LinkedIn | Company X/Twitter

Nick Jeffery

President & Chief Executive Officer, Frontier Communications

Since 2021, he’s led Frontier’s fiber‑first turnaround—returning the company to full‑year organic revenue growth in 2024 and posting record fiber customer adds in 2025. Sources: Frontier newsroom and investor releases (Feb 20, 2025; Apr 29, 2025; Jul 29, 2025).

Company bio | Newsroom | Investor news

Paul H. Sunu

Chairman, President & Chief Executive Officer, Windstream (Kinetic)

Telecom veteran and current chairman who became CEO in October 2023; driving Kinetic’s fiber expansion and quality focus across an 18‑state footprint. Sources: Windstream executives page; CEO appointment release.

Company bio | Press release | Company X/Twitter

Bob Udell

President & Chief Executive Officer, Consolidated Communications

Long‑time leader who became CEO in 2015; has guided Consolidated into a top‑10 U.S. fiber provider and expanded service across 20+ states (Fidium Fiber). Sources: Consolidated leadership and IR bios.

Company leadership | Investor relations | Company LinkedIn

Tom Maguire

Chief Executive Officer, Brightspeed

Operations chief turned CEO in November 2023 to lead one of the nation’s largest ILECs through a multi‑state fiber build and customer experience overhaul. Source: Brightspeed leadership succession release.

Press release | Media contact | Company LinkedIn

Harold Zeitz

Chief Executive Officer, Ziply Fiber

Former Wave Broadband executive leading Ziply’s aggressive Pacific Northwest fiber overbuild and market expansion after acquiring Frontier’s NW assets. Source: Ziply About/Leadership.

Company leadership | Company LinkedIn | Company X/Twitter

Ken Dixon

President & Chief Executive Officer, TDS Telecom

Joined as President & CEO in June 2025 to accelerate TDS’s fiber transformation after senior roles leading Verizon’s consumer fiber strategy and Tillman FiberCo. Sources: TDS bio and announcement.

Executive bio | Newsroom | Company LinkedIn

Ed McKay

President & Chief Executive Officer, Shenandoah Telecommunications (Shentel)

Promoted from COO to CEO effective September 1, 2025; long‑time engineering and operations leader credited with driving Glo Fiber’s growth strategy. Sources: Shentel release and management page.

Press release | Management bio | Company LinkedIn

Leigh R. Fox

President & Chief Executive Officer, altafiber (formerly Cincinnati Bell)

CEO since 2017, he rebranded Cincinnati Bell to altafiber and is pushing an aggressive fiber build across OH/KY/IN and Hawaii, including the CBTS/OnX spinoff to focus as a pure‑play fiber platform. Source: altafiber leadership/updates.

Company leadership | Newsroom | Company LinkedIn

Su Shin

President & General Manager, Hawaiian Telcom (an altafiber company)

Hawaiian Telcom’s first female president is leading the push to make Hawai‘i the first fully fiber‑enabled state by 2026, backed by significant public‑private investment. Sources: Hawaiian Telcom leadership/blog.

Leadership profile | Hawaiian Telcom blog | Contact (Hawaiian Telcom)

Brian Stading

Chief Executive Officer, Lumos

CEO since 2022 who has scaled Lumos into new markets, led a first‑of‑its‑kind ESG‑linked refinancing, and announced a JV with T‑Mobile to accelerate fiber. Sources: Lumos CEO profile/news.

Leadership profile | News | Company LinkedIn

Dave Heimbach

President & Chief Executive Officer, Metronet

Became President & CEO on October 1, 2023 and is guiding the company’s next‑phase growth following the 2024 T‑Mobile/KKR JV to scale fiber nationwide. Sources: Metronet releases (CEO appointment; JV announcement).

News release | About/Leadership | Company LinkedIn

Jim Baase

Chief Executive Officer, Empire Access

Elevated to CEO as Antin Infrastructure invested in Empire; has accelerated the company’s fiber expansion across NY and PA with repeated market launches. Sources: Empire Access releases.

Press (CEO named) | Press quotes (as CEO) | Company LinkedIn

Brad Moline

President & Chief Executive Officer, ALLO Communications

Founder and CEO since 2003; built ALLO into a regional fiber leader serving dozens of communities with a strong community‑first model. Source: ALLO leadership.

About/Leadership | Company LinkedIn | Company X/Twitter

Hu Meena

Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, C Spire

Long‑time chairman & CEO who spearheaded Mississippi’s pioneering FTTH initiative and diversified the company into cloud and enterprise tech. Sources: C Spire leadership/news.

Leadership/Team | Company LinkedIn | Company X/Twitter

Josh Pettiette

President & Chief Executive Officer, GVTC Communications

Veteran product and strategy leader appointed CEO July 1, 2024; now driving the Texas Hill Country cooperative’s continued FTTH expansion. Sources: GVTC executive team and CEO announcement.

Executive team | Announcement | Company LinkedIn

David Armistead

Chief Executive Officer, Clearwave Fiber

CEO leading an ambitious plan to bring 100% fiber internet to 500,000+ homes and businesses by 2026 while expanding across the Southeast and Midwest. Sources: Clearwave About and press releases.

About | Press (CEO referenced) | Press (CEO quotes)

Heath Simpson

Chief Executive Officer, Ritter Communications (RightFiber)

Former AT&T and Frontier senior exec who became CEO on January 31, 2024; now scaling RightFiber’s multi‑gig FTTH builds across the Mid‑South. Sources: Ritter Communications newsroom.

Newsroom (CEO promotion) | Newsroom (leadership update) | Company LinkedIn