In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Bill LaPerch, former CEO of AboveNet and a telecom veteran who played a key role in shaping the industry’s digital infrastructure. Bill’s career spans the rise of competitive fiber networks, the telecom boom, the WorldCom collapse, and the rebirth of the industry post-dot-com bust.
In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Kevin O’Hara, Co-founder and CEO of Congruex, a leading telecommunications company dedicated to advancing digital connectivity. Kevin shares his fascinating career journey, starting with his time in Alaska working for Kiewit, a pivotal role that set the stage for his future in the telecommunications industry. The conversation takes a personal turn as Kevin recalls his transition to MFS, where he hired Dan—a significant move that showcased his willingness to take a chance on unconventional talent.
In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan Caruso is joined by Neil Hobbs, Partner at L5 Capital Partners and Chairman of Eu Networks, and Brady Rafuse, CEO of Eu Networks—two industry titans with careers that span continents and decades of innovation.
In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan reconnects with Gillis Cashman, Managing Partner at M/C Partners and a longtime collaborator on industry-defining ventures like ICG and Zayo. Gillis reflects on their shared journey of transforming distressed telecom assets into thriving businesses, offering an insider’s perspective on the high-stakes world of private equity and telecom innovation.
In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan welcomes Carrie Charles, the dynamic CEO of Broadstaff, a company specializing in workforce solutions for the digital infrastructure industry. Together, they co-host a lively discussion, exploring their entrepreneurial journeys and the pivotal moments that shaped their careers.
In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan sits down with Bill Barney to explore the evolution of digital infrastructure in Asia, the significance of the PTC conference, and personal anecdotes from their careers in the telecom industry. Bill shares insights from his time at AT&T and MCI, highlighting the importance of strategic partnerships and the role of conferences in shaping industry dynamics.
In this episode of The Bear Roars, Dan Caruso sits down with telecom legend John Warta to explore his extraordinary career and the transformative role he played in shaping the fiber optic networks that revolutionized the industry. From his early days as a Vietnam veteran to working with Ross Perot at EDS, John’s journey into telecommunications was anything but conventional.
Dan sits down with Nick Del Deo, who currently serves as the Managing Director at MoffettNathanson, a leading independent equity research publisher. Dan and Nick’s professional paths first crossed during the Zayo IPO roadshow in 2014, when Nick was a young talented analyst reporting on Dan’s company, Zayo. Nick has grown his career analyzing telecom companies, infrastructure investments, and market trends. Nick’s insights provide a deeper understanding of where the telecom sector is headed.
Dan sits down with Stephanie Copeland, Managing Partner at Four Points Funding. Dan and Stephanie relive the telecom era and their career journeys, including working together at Level 3 and Zayo group. This episode includes many great stories about the early bandwidth days and those influential in shaping the sector: from illegal stock swaps, accounting fraud, to larger than life characters that followed a strict ethical code.
This is Part II of Dan’s sit down with Bob Yates, a prominent figure in the Boulder, Colorado community. In Part II, Dan and Bob discuss their shared history in the world of telecom in relation to Dan’s book, Bandwidth.
