Genband, the Texas technology company that bought a major Nortel Networks unit last week, is putting its faith in a former Nortel executive to lead its Research Triangle Park operations.
Jeff Townley, 53, is the only RTP executive Genband named to its executive team Tuesday in the wake of last week's $282 million acquisition of Nortel's Carrier VoIP and Applications Solutions business.
A 26-year veteran of Nortel's Global Operations group, Townley has been named Genband's president of operations, over professional services, support, manufacturing and supply chain.
Genband, which makes telecommunications equipment and software, held a companywide virtual meeting Tuesday to introduce its new leadership and business strategy to 3,000 employees and contractors worldwide. Genband gained about 2,500 former Nortel workers and contractors globally as part of the acquisition, including 500 locally.
Genband has signed a multi-year lease for more than 200,000 square feet in a former Nortel building in RTP. The new Genband operations here include Nortel's Network Operations Center, the round-the-clock facility where Genband monitors customers' phone and data networks.
"It's the epicenter of all our global services," said CEO Charles Vogt. "My view is that Raleigh will continue to be a strategic location for us as we continue to grow."
Genband, which bid on Nortel's CVAS unit in December, was one of multiple companies that vied for Nortel business units as part of the bankruptcy proceedings Nortel had entered into in January 2009.
Genband specializes in Internet Protocol equipment that's used to transmit phone calls, e-mails and other data. Nortel's CVAS unit specialized in voice over Internet protocol technology. Genband sells product to more than 600 service providers globally. The company leads in market share in several categories, such as telephone companies and cable companies, and is second behind Cisco Systems in software that bridges Internet Protocol networks with older legacy phone systems.
Genband said that with the Nortel acquisition, it has vast resources in research and development, sales and support, spanning 46 countries. The company's two biggest customers are Verizon and AT&T. Other U.S. customers include CenturyLink, Comcast, Sprint, Windstream and Qwest.
Genband was founded in 1999 as General Bandwidth and renamed Genband in 2004 in a management shakeup. In 2007, Genband acquired the Internet Protocol Switching business from Morrisville-based Tekelec.
Vogt said that six years ago, Genband had just 80 employees and has grown through five major acquisitions. In two of those acquisitions - the Tekelec and Nortel deals - Genband swallowed a business four times its own size.
