Vonage Holdings Corp. has elected Hamid Akhavan to serve as a member of its Board of Directors.
Akhavan is currently a partner at Long Arc Capital, a private equity firm specializing in disruptive technology investments. Prior to thatm Akhavan was CEO of Unify, and earlier roles included COO of Deutsche Telekom and CEO of T-Mobile, where he also served as CTO/CIO.
Akhavan has nearly 30 years of telecom, media and technology experience, with CEO and Board of Director experience at organizations spanning from large public corporations, to private equity-funded companies, to startups. He also has expertise in the wireless, hardware and software markets, as well as in enterprise cloud communications, Akhavan brings broad and deep strategic technology leadership to the Vonage board.
With the addition of Akhavan, Vonage’s Board will be composed of nine diverse highly qualified Directors, six of whom joined the Board in the last five years and eight of whom are independent.
“We are thrilled to welcome Hamid to the Vonage Board of Directors. His deep and versatile technology, enterprise and communications experience will add significant strategic insight to our board,” said Alan Masarek, Vonage CEO. “Hamid’s proven ability to find new sources of growth and to look ahead for new opportunities in the rapidly evolving communications industry will serve Vonage well as we continue on our journey to become the global leader in cloud communications for business.”
At Unify, a $2 billion private equity-backed joint venture between the Gores Group and Siemens, he spearheaded significant turnaround and restructuring efforts to reposition the company from a traditional PBX manufacturer to a cloud-based provider of enterprise communications solutions.
Prior to joining T-Mobile, Akhavan served as CTO and CIO at Teligent, an international broadband fixed and wireless access company, and held various executive-level positions at other technology companies. He holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from CalTech, and an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from MIT.
“It is an honor to join Vonage’s talented Board at such a transformative time in the company’s history, but also during a period of significant growth in an industry that is evolving very rapidly,” Akhavan said. “Vonage has successfully built upon its roots and strengths as a consumer VoIP company and accelerated its transformation into a leader in cloud communications for business. I look forward to drawing upon my experience and working with the Board and the Vonage management team to help continue this positive momentum and drive Vonage’s continued success.”
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