Board Nomination Bios

Eric Bender
Co-Founder/Senior Vice President
WILCON

Mr. Bender is the Senior Vice President of Business Development of WILCON (www.wilcon.com).  He co-founded WILCON in 1998 and previously served as its President. He currently serves on the PTC Advisory Council and on the PTC Membership Committee.   Mr. Bender was the Vice President of Operations of Global Gateway, a developer of carrier hotels and data centers in Asia and the western United States, a partnership of Gaw Capital and Morgan Stanley.  Additionally, he is currently the Senior Vice President of Asset Management with Downtown Properties/DP Management Services, Inc., a Los Angeles based $1.3 billion real estate investment company associated with Hong Kong based Gaw Capital.  In this position, he was responsible for conversion of several office buildings in downtown Los Angeles into “carrier hotels” and data centers.  Mr. Bender also is the President of Rockfield Associates, Inc., a commercial real estate consulting and Brokerage Company.

I believe I would be a valuable addition to INCOMPAS Board of Directors.  In my 17 years in the telecom industry, beginning with my co-founding of Wilcon (a/k/a Wilshire Connection) in 1998, I have seen substantial changes in the nature and character of our business.  INCOMPAS is the premier organization dedicated to the idea of fair and just practices and competitive environments within the communications community around the globe. I have been attending INCOMPAS’ biennial conference each year since founding Wilcon in 1998.  We have been a INCOMPAS member for several years. My experience working with our company’s international customer base has provided me with the necessary knowledge and expertise that enables me to be a valuable asset in furthering INCOMPAS' mission and goals. As our industry continues to evolve, modernize and grow, INCOMPAS must continue to grow and pursue its mission of advocating for the competitive telecom industry.

Scott Bergs
Strategic and Operational Leader
Neutral Path

Scott Bergs calls on his 20+ years of experience in executive management, operations, sales and marketing, customer support, legal and regulatory support, fundraising and M&A strategy and execution to set and help fulfill Neutral Path’s vision and key objectives. Together with the talented Neutral Path team, Scott spends each day ensuring that Neutral Path meets and exceeds the ever increasing demand for bandwidth by furnishing service providers, content networks and other network operators with the highest quality, functionally efficient and cost effective fiber facilities available.

Prior to joining Neutral Path, Scott served in executive positions for Revol Wireless, Alltel, Midwest Wireless, PriceCellular-CellularOne, and MobileComm Bellsouth Company. He also worked to improve other technology and communications company’s performance as a technology attorney and as an operations and strategy consultant with Key City Ventures. He sits on the Board of VentureComm dba Key City Ventures, which provides investment in and management support to help companies unlock value; and on the Boards of several of KCVs portfolio companies.

Scott has successfully contributed to the industry and advocacy efforts of the CTIA, CCA (f/k/a RCA), Minnesota Telecom Association, Wisconsin State Telecom Association, the International Technology Law Association and others.  

Thank you for your consideration of my appointment to the Board of Directors of INCOMPAS. Neutral Path Communications’ focus is to proactively facilitate greater deployment of high capacity data networks by creating scale across strategic long-haul fiber routes and delivering custom extensions from that our backbone to the network operators’ locations. We exist to promote the most functionally and economically efficient deployment of dark fiber and colocation facilities, which enable network operators to deliver higher service levels at lower cost. We believe that INCOMPAS is an effective and focused organization, likewise seeking to advance the interests of all competitive service providers. By applying the skills and experience that I have developed in my professional career, industry associations and non-profits, I am confident that if appointed to the Board, I will add value to INCOMPAS and its members as we collectively pursue this mission.  

President & General Manager

President and Co-Founder

Greg is the President and co-founder of CoastCom, Inc., which is based in Newport, Oregon. He has been in business for himself for the last 35 years and for the last 16 years he has served as CoastCom’s President. He served 2 years as President of the Northwest Telecommunications Association and is currently serving as Vice President. This association is made up of Competitive Local Exchange Carriers in the Pacific Northwest with a regional mission similar to INCOMPAS' on the national level. 

CoastCom is a facilities based competitive telecommunications carrier that provides fiber based voice and data services to customers on the Oregon Coast. CoastCom also manages a submarine cable landing station in Pacific City Oregon and has terrestrial fiber routes from the beach to Hillsboro, which is near the Portland Oregon metro area. Two new off shore cables, one from northern Asia and another from New Zealand/Australia, are scheduled to be installed in the next 2 years. CoastCom also has a fiber optic construction division building hundreds of miles of new fiber optic cable routes annually.  

It’s an honor to be nominated and if elected, I promise to be diligent in my duties as your representative on the INCOMPAS board. It’s exciting to be involved with a top notch organization like INCOMPAS that is so influential in forming policies that affect all our futures. 

COO

Bio:
Dale is chief operating officer of YourTel America, which was founded in 1995 to supply core city residents with low-cost telecommunication services. Dale began his telecommunications career working for PageNet in the New York City, selling wireless products. He was then promoted to manager of reseller distribution – Kansas in 1993. He has been with YourTel America since 1997 in various leadership positions, leading the migration of the company from a reseller of paging products to a full-fledged switch- based CLEC, ISP and wireless carrier. Dale is also the COO of TerraCom Inc. and serves as the chairman of INCOMPAS’ Board of Directors. In addition, he is a former member of the Kansas City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, serves on the advisory board of Kansas City Friends of Alvin Ailey and is a fire captain with the Southern Platte Fire Protection District.

Chief Financial Officer

Bio:
Peter Stazzone joined Voce in 2008. He is responsible for the company’s financial strategy, accounting, planning, funding, assets, budgeting and reporting.

CEO

Statement:
I started Broadband Voice in 2006 after nearly a decade in the sales division for a technology company, Unity Communications, where I served as Vice President of Sales. Early in my tenure at Unity, I recognized that the coming generation of telephony would be rooted in IP-based technology. This vision was the catalyst for my starting Broadband Voice and rooting our business in hosted VoIP solutions bundled with a number of competitive Internet providers. While healthy competition and continued technology advancements are critical to our business and the success of INCOMPAS member companies, bringing personal customer relationships back to telecom is what motivates me.

I would like the opportunity to serve on the INCOMPAS board to represent a voice for IP interconnection, to meet and better understand new technologies in the marketplace and to be an advocate for small VoIP businesses like Broadband Voice competing in this industry.   

CEO

President

Bio:
Bob Beaty who is founder and CEO of Impact Telecom, a leader in the telecommunications market, focused on delivering flexible and effective solutions to carriers, businesses, and homes.  Impact Telecom is comprised of a family of brands all dedicated to innovation, affordability and execution. 

Bob brings 23 years of experience in telecommunications, managing wholesale and commercial customer bases. Prior to starting Impact Telecom in 2005, he served as the Senior Vice President of Sales for ICG Communications. He helped guide ICG through bankruptcy, and was a valued member of the senior executive team tasked with growing and managing the customer base.

Earlier in his career at AT&T Broadband, Bob focused on telephony over cable and was responsible for business planning and coordinating operations with the local service and long distance organizations. Bob successfully negotiated and managed multiple agendas and initiatives of various organizations on an aggressive implementation schedule. During his tenure at AT&T, he gained valuable operations experience, which he has applied throughout his career. He earned a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Kansas and his M.B.A. in Business Administration from Webster University. Bob is a motivated and determined individual with a keen focus on accomplishing goals while meeting individual needs. He has a proven track record of success. Bob is based in the Denver, CO office.

President

Group President

Jim Butman joined TDS in 1985 as a member of the Government and Regulatory Affairs department. He held a variety of managerial and director level positions before joining the Marketing department as director of Product Management. 

In 1994, Jim was named president of USLink (TDS Telecom's long distance operation in Minnesota and North Dakota). He served in this leadership role for three years before being appointed president of TDS Metrocom. In 2006, Jim was named the group president of Marketing, Sales, and Customer Operations for TDS Telecommunications Corp.

Jim has nearly 30 years of experience in the telecom industry, including five years with GTE Midwestern Telephone Operations. He has held leadership positions in all facets of the industry including local exchange, long distance, and competitive local exchange.

Jim earned a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and is a Certified Management Accountant. He earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Wisconsin–Eau Claire. 

Jim currently serves on the board of directors, is a member of the Executive Committee and is treasurer, for INCOMPAS, the national association for the competitive local telecom industry.

I wish to continue to serve as a INCOMPAS Board member because I see the critical importance of the issues and challenges competitive carriers face in today’s environment, and I want to make a difference in advocating for improved pro-competitive policies.  

My past commitment speaks for my passion and support for INCOMPAS and its member companies.  I believe I bring many unique and important perspectives to the Board and membership given my experience as a senior executive with extensive operational and developmental experience that has always stayed close to the importance of the policy debates and actively sought to secure positive outcomes.

I currently oversee policy aspects of TDS’ business across several fronts due to our Company’s diversified holdings, including CLEC and Cable affiliates as well as our ILEC and Wireless companies, which allows me to understand the broad implications of INCOMPAS' policy initiatives.

Bio:
Dane Jasper is the CEO and Co-Founder of Sonic Telecom, a mid-sized regional carrier focused on residential and small business services.

Sonic delivers service from central office colocation in 125 California cities, as well as via fiber facilities. Mr. Jasper would like to join the INCOMPAS board in order to advocate for carriers using UNE copper to deliver next-generation services. Copper retirement, service quality and structure access are items we focus on. Mr. Jasper is a board member and serves as Co-Chair of CALTEL, and is a board member of ISP associations FISPA and CISPA.

Senior Vice President, Wholesale and Network Services

Vice President and Assistant General Counsel, Federal Affairs