FTTH Council to Seek New President as O'Connell is Tapped for Industry Job

(WASHINGTON, DC) - The Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council, an organization dedicated to expanding the deployment of high speed all-fiber networks, announced today that its president, Daniel O'Connell, will leave the organization in October to take a senior position at a major telecommunications company.

Further details on O'Connell's new position will be revealed at a later date.  In the meantime, the Council's board of directors has appointed Joe Savage, who led the organization for five years until 2010, to serve as the interim president while the organization conducts a nationwide search for a new president.

"Over the past year, Dan O'Connell has been an enormously effective leader who has moved the Council decisively forward in many ways, especially in the area of growing our membership," said Mike Hill, President and CEO of On Trac, Inc., and the Chair of the FTTH Council board of directors.  "While we hate to lose him, it is not surprising to us that Dan's high level of knowledge and experience in fiber to the home would lead him into the highest levels of the telecommunications industry."

O'Connell's departure and Savage's appointment as interim President will be officially announced at the Council's annual conference and trade show, the 2011 FTTH Conference & Expo, which will take place next week in Orlando, FL.

Under Savage's five years at the helm, the Council more than doubled its membership and vastly strengthened its educational, legislative and public advocacy efforts.  He has 40 years of executive level experience in telecommunications and optical networking, including CEO and Corporate Director positions with a number of optical equipment companies.

"We are of course delighted and grateful that Joe Savage has agreed to step out of retirement for a brief period and take responsibility for keeping our many successful initiatives on an upward track while we search for a new president," said Hill.  "He certainly has the experience and the contacts to hit the ground running and not only keep our day-to-day operations running smoothly, but also to build on the momentum of the past several years."  

About the Fiber-to-the-Home Council 

Now in its tenth year, the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council is a non-profit association consisting of companies and organizations that deliver video, Internet and/or voice services over high-bandwidth, next-generation, direct fiber optic connections - as well as those involved in planning and building FTTH networks.  The Council works to create a cohesive group to share knowledge and build industry consensus on key issues surrounding fiber to the home. Its mission is to educate the public and government officials about FTTH solutions and to promote and accelerate deployment of fiber to the home and the resulting quality of life enhancements such networks make possible.  The Council organizes North America's largest annual FTTH event, the FTTH Conference & Expo, which will be held September 26 - 30, 2011 in Orlando, Florida.   More information about the Council can be found at www.ftthcouncil.org.

Media Contact:

David St. John

Media Relations

FTTH Council

315.849.3800

media@ftthcouncil.org