OUR LEADERSHIP
A new company, with decades of industry experience. Meet the leaders who are reshaping the internet industry for the better.
Tom Maguire
Chief Executive Officer
As Chief Executive Officer of Brightspeed, Tom is responsible for leading the strategic planning and implementation of the company’s strategy and goals, ensuring operational excellence and driving innovation across the enterprise. He oversees the company’s business development opportunities and customer-focused improvements and growth.
Tom Maguire brings more than four decades of telecommunications experience to Brightspeed. Starting as a field technician, Tom built his career from the ground up.
Before stepping into the CEO role, Tom served as the company’s Chief Operating Officer responsible for ensuring Brightspeed’s operations team leverages state-of-the-art technology to deliver on the company’s promise to provide best-in-class customer service and a faster, more reliable network across the company’s footprint.
Prior to Brightspeed, Tom served as senior vice president of national operations support at Verizon, where he was responsible for the processes and systems of one of the nation's largest operations teams consisting of more than 35,000 field technicians as well as engineering and network operations teams. Under his leadership, the company improved overall customer satisfaction and reduced operational expenses by delivering significant operations automation, much of which was patented.
Tom earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Adelphi University and his Master of Business Administration degree from Long Island University. USTelecom | The Broadband Association, the leading association of connectivity providers and innovators, elected Tom to its board of directors in October 2023.
Manuel Sampedro
Chief Operating Officer
As Chief Operating Officer of Brightspeed, Manuel Sampedro is responsible for ensuring Brightspeed’s operations team leverages state-of-the-art technology to deliver on the company’s promise to provide best-in-class customer service and a faster, more reliable network across the company’s footprint.
Manuel brings more than 25 years of telecommunications experience to his role. Prior to Brightspeed, he served as senior vice president of global business transformation at Verizon, where he led the company’s business transformation initiatives from development to execution. He also led the integration of Verizon’s Tracfone acquisition from America Movil in 2021. Manuel spent most of his career at Verizon, advancing through regional and national management roles in operations.
Manuel earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in International Business from Towson University and his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Baltimore. Additionally, he earned a masters certificate in project management from George Washington University.
Monty Garrett
Chief Financial Officer
Monty Garrett brings more than 35 years of finance expertise, including decades in the telecom industry, to his role as Brightspeed’s Chief Financial Officer. As CFO, Monty is responsible for the company’s finance, accounting and treasury operations and directs capital planning and investment initiatives to drive the company’s $2 billion fiber optics transformation plan. His top priorities are to ensure accurate and timely reporting of financials, analysis, cash movement and key metrics to help drive growth.
Monty joined Brightspeed in early September as the company’s controller. Before joining the company, he spent more than 25 years at Verizon in various financial leadership roles during two different periods, ultimately serving as senior vice president of accounting and senior vice president of internal audit. Monty also served as chief accounting officer and chief financial officer of Doosan Infracore International (Bobcat) and as a member of the assurance practice at Ernst & Young.
Monty earned his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from The Citadel and two Master of Business Administration degrees — one from California State University and another from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business.
Sorabh Saxena
Chief Information Officer
Sorabh Saxena serves as Chief Information Officer, where he is responsible for developing the systems and technology to support the end-to-end fiber optics network transformation, from the initial build to sales to ongoing operations. Sorabh brings nearly 30 years of technology experience to Brightspeed, most of it gained in the telecommunications industry.
Sorabh joins Brightspeed from PwC, where he most recently served as principal, lead technology strategy & implementation, working with large organizations on their technology transformations. Prior to that, he served as chief digital & information technology officer for US Consumer Bank at Citi. Sorabh also spent more than 25 years of his career at AT&T in roles of increasing responsibility, primarily in IT. He left the organization in 2020 after serving as president/EVP global operations & services for AT&T Business.
Sorabh earned his Bachelor of Technology degree in Electronics and Communications Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras. He earned his master’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Maryland Baltimore County.
Brian Bond
Chief Technology Officer
As Brightspeed’s Chief Technology Officer, Brian Bond leads the Architecture, Product and Technology organization. His team is responsible for Brightspeed’s network architecture and integration, technology strategy and innovation, digital transformation, and product management. His top priority is delivering cost-effective solutions that enable Brightspeed to deliver on the promise to bring broadband to underserved communities.
Brian has spent his career in telecom, leading technology transformation. He joined Brightspeed as the chief operations support and innovation leader, spearheading the company’s network architecture design and delivering next-generation technology to scale the network through the company's launch.
Prior to his role at Brightspeed, Brian was the Vice President of Architecture, Engineering, and Technology at Lumen Technologies. At Lumen, he led a team of architects and engineers that managed the development and deployment of technology solutions, incl uding XGS-PON and fiber extension technologies like g.hn and g.Fast, and the design of new customer premise equipment.
Before joining Lumen, he spent almost 20 years at Verizon, growing his career with the launch and evolution of Fios, the company’s industry-leading broadband product. He was instrumental in creating the technology, tools, and processes that enabled the operations field teams to execute the Fios strategy.
Brian earned his Bachelor of Science in Electronics Engineering Technology from Fairmont State University. He is a Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and Lean Applied to Business Processes certified.
Jeff Lowney
EVP and Chief Commercial Officer, Enterprise and Wholesale
Jeff Lowney joins Brightspeed with an enviable record of transforming underperforming telecommunications markets. As the Chief Commercial Officer for Enterprise and Wholesale, Jeff is responsible for driving sales and service for businesses in the rural and suburban areas within Brightspeed’s 20-state footprint. His focus is on customer retention and growth while helping customers transition to fiber technology and grow their businesses with our innovative product offerings.
Jeff’s more than 20-year career includes leadership roles with Sprint, AT&T, TW Telecom/Level 3 (now Lumen Technologies), and Windstream. His most recent role was president of Windstream Kinetic strategic accounts division where he was responsible for leading the organization’s sales division, driving high margin revenue growth to monetize Windstream’s $2 billion fiber investment strategy. Prior to joining Windstream, Jeff spent more than a decade at Lumen Technologies in various leadership roles driving sales and revenue for the company.
Jeff earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point and his Master of Business Administration from Cardinal Stritch University. He also attended the University of Denver, Daniels College of Business Executive Education Program.
Jeff is an active member of the Special Olympics and supports other local nonprofit organizations.
Courtland Madock
Chief Marketing Officer
As Brightspeed’s Chief Marketing Officer, Courtland Madock is responsible for growing sales, marketing the company’s innovative product line, creating an exceptional customer experience, and building recognition of the Brightspeed brand. Courtland leads a customer experience team of more than 500 marketing, sales and customer service professionals. She and her team are focused on building the Brightspeed brand to be synonymous with speed, reliability and best-in-class service.
Courtland joined Brightspeed after serving in various roles at U.S. Cellular for more than a decade, most recently as vice president of marketing, leading the marketing organization to achieve subscriber and revenue goals. During her tenure, she led the transformation of the company’s high-speed internet product line and grew market share in a fiercely competitive and predominantly rural consumer footprint.
Courtland earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of Iowa and her Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Fierce Wireless honored Courtland with its Rising Star award in 2020.
Colon McLean
Chief Human Resources Officer
Colon McLean serves as Chief Human Resources Officer for Brightspeed, responsible for building and leading all people-related programs and establishing and sustaining the company’s customer-focused culture. Known for leading executive teams through complex, global business and people transactions, Colon brings decades of experience from large-scale public and private equity backed companies to his role at Brightspeed.
Under Colon’s leadership the transition of thousands of Lumen employees to Brightspeed was transparent and seamless. Colon and his team ensure that the Brightspeed work environment is inclusive and diverse as the company continues to grow to meet the needs of building a state-of-the-art broadband network across 20 states.
Colon most recently led human resources for Alight Solutions, a Blackstone portfolio company, where he was responsible for all people-related programs and led HR due diligence, integration and value realization of four acquisitions. Additionally, Colon championed the company's purpose and values, driving high levels of engagement, resulting in certification as a Great Place to Work in 2018, 2019 and 2020. Prior to Alight Solutions, he served as Chief Human Resources Officer at two other companies following a two-decade career at Duke Energy where he became co-head of human resources.
Colon earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Wingate University and his Master of Business Administration from Wake Forest University.
Colon was an active member of the HR Management Association of Chicago, serving as a member and board chair.
Steve Tugentman
Chief Legal Officer
As Brightspeed’s Chief Legal Officer, Steve Tugentman and his team, together with leadership, ensures the company maintains its culture of integrity, ethics and compliance; establishes simple, agile and business-friendly policies and procedures; and partners with business unit leaders to drive growth.
With 30 years in the telecommunications industry, Steve spent the majority of his career at Verizon, joining that company through an acquisition and continuing to grow his career for the next three decades. He most recently served as senior vice president and general counsel at Verizon, leading the legal function that supported the marketing and operations of global enterprise, government contracts, consumer and mass business, network operations and partner solutions. He managed more than 380 legal professionals helping to drive a culture of accountability, integrity and compliance.
Steve earned his Bachelor of Arts from The City University of New York and his Juris Doctorate from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in New York.
Steve was a board member of the Better Business Bureau in Washington D.C for ten years.
Amy Wulfestieg
Chief Communications Officer
Amy Wulfestieg has spent her entire career driving company cultures through internal and external communications strategy and execution, managing crisis communications and building high performing communications teams. As Brightspeed’s Chief Communications Officer, Amy is responsible for leading the company’s communications function, including internal and external communications, media relations, organizational change management and reputation management. Her top priority is delivering a well-coordinated, integrated set of messages to ensure all stakeholders understand Brightspeed’s powerful purpose, while creating a warm, welcoming environment for employees where they feel supported and excited for the company’s future.
Amy came to Brightspeed from Nordstrom where she led the company’s internal communications department responsible for developing and sharing the stories that showcase the company’s customer-first culture to its more than 60,000 employees. Prior to joining Nordstrom, she served as Alight Solutions’ Executive Vice President of Communications where she led a team that designed and led engagement and communications strategies as well as comprehensive communications planning for mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs, and a planned IPO.
Amy earned her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Valparaiso University and her Master of Business Administration from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
Juan Rio
Chief Transformation Officer
Juan Rio leads Brightspeed’s transformation office, responsible for driving disciplined action, in partnership with leaders across the enterprise, to ensure the company achieves its goals monthly, quarterly and annually. Under Juan’s leadership, the transformation office drives key initiatives to build the most extensive fiber network in our footprint, expand our customer base, operate efficiently to become a lean, agile organization and transition to become a fully independent operator.
Juan has 25 years of telecommunications and technology experience, specializing in enterprise-wide transformation and corporate strategy. He has spent his career supporting and advising telecom executives in the design and execution of transformative initiatives including the EBITDA turnaround of the Sprint business in 2017-2019, the merger of T-Mobile and Sprint in 2020 and an enterprise-wide transformation at T-Mobile. During Juan’s tenure as chief transformation and analytics officer at Sprint, the company experienced an EBITDA improvement trajectory that resulted in the best EBITDA and net income in the company’s history.
Juan earned his MS in nuclear engineering from Polytechnical University of Catalonia in Barcelona, Spain and his Master of Business Administration with a concentration in finance from IESE and The London Business School. He serves on the board of directors of Aena, the world’s leading airport management company.
Sherry Hessenthaler
Chief Corporate Development Officer
Sherry Hessenthaler is responsible for driving strategic efforts across the company to drive growth. She brings more than 35 years of telecom industry experience and was part of the early team that helped launch Brightspeed in October 2022. Prior to joining the company’s executive leadership team, she served as Brightspeed’s vice president and head of operations strategy where she led the team responsible for the strategic planning, engineering and construction of the multi-year deployment of XGS-PON and 100G fiber broadband network to rural and suburban communities across Brightspeed’s 20-state footprint.
Sherry came to Brightspeed from Verizon where she served in various executive leadership and strategy positions within finance and network operations. While at Verizon, she held management roles in all aspects of finance including corporate cash and debt management, external reporting, investor relations, internal auditing and compliance. When Verizon increased its fiber deployment, Sherry held a national leadership role overseeing the strategy of the company’s fiber build including areas such as construction, operations, network maintenance and new product deployment as well as related financials and capital budget management.
Sherry earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in economics and her Bachelor of Science degree in computer science from Ursinus College. She earned a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in international finance from Philadelphia University and is a Certified Public Accountant.
