4G World

Bob Azzi is Senior Vice President of Sprint’s Network.  Bob leads a team of nineteen hundred employees composed of executives, managers, and engineers nationwide and internationally who provide network development and deployment, access management and service assurance for Sprint consumer and business customers. He directs the ownership and operations of the CDMA, iDEN and global IP networks operated by Sprint.  Azzi is the Sprint executive officer in charge of the organization that ensures the success of the partnership between the Ericsson Corporation and Sprint Nextel Corporation.

During Mr. Azzi’s 20 plus years of tenure at Sprint, he has held senior leadership positions in network engineering, software development, network planning, network operations and customer service in Minneapolis, Virginia and   Kansas City.  His industry expertise was honed from work in local, long-distance, international and wireless telecommunications networks.  Prior to joining Sprint he held various management positions in operations, engineering, and access verification with AT&T Long Lines in Chicago and New Jersey during an eight-year career with AT&T.

Azzi holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and an MBA from Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri.   He and his family reside in Olathe Kansas.

Keynote:
Wednesday, October 20, 10:30 am
The Exciting Future of Mobile Broadband

Bruce Brda is senior vice president and general manager of the Networks segment within Motorola’s Enterprise Mobility Solutions and Networks business. In this role, Brda has overall responsibility for Motorola’s global Networks segment which develops wireless broadband systems and devices that seamlessly enable uninterrupted access to information, entertainment and communication services and is a world leader in providing cellular infrastructure and emerging wireless broadband technologies. Bruce leads teams responsible for product management and development as well as Strategy, Go-To-Market, Services and Quality.

Bruce returns to Motorola Networks where he spent 13 years before serving seven years in positions of increasing responsibility in Motorola’s Mobile Devices business.

While with Mobile Devices, Bruce gained extensive international sales and marketing experience while serving in Go-To-Market roles and by leading the Mobile Devices Marketing function. He directly managed the Go-To-Market function for the Greater China, Latin America and North America regions and led the Global Sales organization.

Prior to joining the Mobile Devices business, Bruce was vice president of sales and operations for Motorola’s infrastructure business, where he managed all aspects of Motorola’s relationship with Nextel, one of Motorola’s largest customers globally at that time. Bruce also managed Motorola’s network business with Sprint.

Bruce has 25 years of high-tech sales, engineering and business development experience, including leadership roles in the telecommunications and electronics industries. Prior to joining Motorola in 1989, Bruce worked as director of engineering for Dukane Corporation and as a design engineer for Northrop Corporation.

Bruce holds a bachelor of science degree from Southern Illinois University and a master of science degree from Illinois Institute of Technology.

Keynote:
Tuesday, October 19, 10:30 am
Sneak Preview: The Future of Broadband

Matt Bross joined Huawei as Chief Technology Officer and Vice Chairman of Huawei USA in October 2009. In his new role, Mr. Matt Bross will focus on identifying global telecommunications industry and network architecture trends that will guide Huawei's continuous customer-centric innovation of products and solutions. He will also support Huawei's efforts in delivering the latest products and solutions for North American customers.

Mr. Bross has had a long and distinguished career in the telecommunications industry. Before joining Huawei, Matt Bross served as a commissioner of the Global Information Infrastructure Commission (GIIC) and Regional Director for Europe since December 2005. In 2008, he was appointed Vice Chairman for a two-year term. The GIIC is a confederation of CxO level executives engaged in the development, deployment, operation, financing, and use of ICT services and products. From 2002 to 2009, Matt served as CEO BT Innovate and Chief Technology Officer at BT Group plc where he was responsible for setting the vision and direction of innovation to drive and optimize BT's innovation ecosystem. He was also responsible for BT's research and venturing efforts globally and was the leading force behind BT's multi-billion pound, 21st Century Network transformation.

Matt has served on the boards of many companies providing strategic, technology and business leadership. Matt serves on the board of the Alliance for Telecommunications Industry Solutions (ATIS), a United States based body focusing on the development and promotion of technical and operations standards for the communications and related information technology industry globally. ATIS is accredited by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). Matt was appointed Secretary in 2008.

Matt is widely regarded as a visionary speaker on technology and innovation. In 2007 he was awarded a Stevie International Business award for "Best MIS & IT Executive" and a William Pitt Fellowship by Pembroke College at the University of Cambridge. In 2008, Matt was listed in the Global Telecoms Business top 100 most influential people in the telecoms industry.

Keynote:
Wednesday, October 20, 2:00pm
4G’s Impact to the Evolution of Generations X, Y and Z: The Global Cyberfication of our Society and the Digital Economy

Ashraf Dahod is Senior Vice President and General Manager of Cisco’s Mobile Internet Technology Group, the newly formed group as a result of the Starent acquisition. In his previous role, Dahod served as Chief Executive Officer and President of Starent Networks Corporation, a company he co-founded based on his vision of enhancing mobile wireless networks and their services. Dahod has an exceptionally strong record of building successful technology companies, capitalizing on his ability to recognize market opportunities and combining it with a keen understanding of technology.

Prior to Starent, Dahod co-founded NetCore Systems, Inc., in 1996, a producer of innovative large-scale, high-performance switching products targeting major ISP’s and multi-service telecommunications carriers. In August 1999, Tellabs acquired NetCore.

In 1988, Dahod co-founded Sigma Network Systems, Inc. an industry leader in multi-layer, multi-protocol switching systems. Standard Microsystems Corporation (SMC) acquired Sigma in 1992, where Dahod continued to lead the team and develop further innovations. SMC sold the Sigma business to Cabletron in 1996.

In 1981, he founded Applitek Corporation, another technology pioneering company. It developed the first cable modem. Applitek was later renamed LANCity and was acquired by Bay Networks. It is now part of Arris Interactive.

Dahod received his MBA from Harvard in 1981. He has engineering degrees from Stanford (MSEE), Northeastern (MSEM) and Michigan (BSEE) and a BS degree in Physics from the University of Bombay. He holds several networking technology patents.

Keynote:
Tuesday, October 19, 9:45am
The Future IP Network for Mobile Communication: Engine for Profitability

Mr. Eriksson was appointed Senior Vice President and General Manager, Group Function Technology, and Chief Technology Officer on January 1, 2003.

Mr. Eriksson was appointed Vice President and General Manager for Research and Development at Ericsson on April 14, 2003, and was responsible for development activities carried out in Ericsson’s Core Network Development, Radio Network Development and Service Network and Applications, as well as for Ericsson Research. Prior to this, Mr. Eriksson served for five years as head of Ericsson Research.

Mr. Eriksson joined Ericsson in 1986, representing the company as a technical expert in GSM standardization work and he has held a number of senior positions in the Research and Development field for Ericsson in Sweden and internationally.

Håkan Eriksson was born in Mjölby, Sweden, in 1961. He graduated with a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering, and in 2005 was awarded an Honorary Ph D, both from Linköping Institute of Technology, Sweden, in 1985.

Keynote:
Tuesday, October 19, 11:30am
The Path to 50 Billion

Eran was appointed Alvarion’s President and Chief Executive Officer in December 2009. He joined us from NICE, where he first served as President and CEO of NICE Systems Inc., the company’s operation in the Americas, and later as Chief Business Officer, responsible for driving the company’s global business.

Prior to NICE, Eran worked for Amdocs, where he was President of the North America Major Clients Division responsible for the company’s business with some of North America's leading communication service providers and media companies, and Corporate Vice President and Head of Worldwide Sales, responsible for leading global sales and business development activities.

Eran holds an L.LB degree from Tel-Aviv University and a joint MBA degree from the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, and the Recanati School of Business Administration, Tel-Aviv University.

Keynote:
Wednesday, October 19, 11:05am
4G Operator Deployment Considerations for Broadband Services

At Samsung Electronics, Dr. Youngky Kim is currently responsible for LTE & WiMAX wireless technology and new product/technology development. He has been internationally recognized for his expertise in wireless network technology, and led end-to-end CDMA system development, WCDMA system development, Mobile WiMAX system development, LTE system development, DSL network development, Core network development, IMS development and application server development. He has produced 72 US patents covering IS-54 wireless technology, IS-95 technology, EV-DO, IEEE 802.16, WCDMA, network and applications.

He has led developing and commercializing the world's first CDMA, CDMA2000-1X, CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, and Mobile WiMAX network in 1996, 2000, 2002, and 2006 respectively. He is known as one of the founders of Mobile WiMAX technology and business. As general manager of WiBro/Mobile WiMAX division, he successfully led Mobile WiMAX standardization, the world first KT WiBro commercialization, and Sprint-Nextel's decision on Mobile WiMAX network deployment.

Under his leadership, Samsung successfully entered KDDI CDMA2000 1X EV-DO and Mobile WiMAX network market as a major network vendor. He started his career in modem algorithm development and expanded his area to network, applications, and business development.<br>

He holds a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of Southern California, and a master's degree in electronics engineering from Seoul National University, as well as a bachelor's degree.

Keynote:
Tuesday, October 19, 2:00pm
The Era of Mobile Broadband: Market Trends and Prospects

Mike Lanman is president – Enterprise and Government Markets for Verizon Wireless, the premier wireless provider with the largest, most reliable wireless voice and 3G broadband data network. In this role, he is responsible for all sales and service to multi-national corporations and federal government accounts.

Prior to assuming his current position in October 2009, he was vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon Wireless, responsible for the company's market strategy and segmentation, pricing, product management, wireless device procurement, brand management and marketing communications.

Lanman joined PrimeCo Personal Communications, a predecessor company of Verizon Wireless, in July 1995 as the director of sales and marketing for the Richmond market. He moved to PrimeCo's corporate office in July 1997 and served as director of sales operations until January 1999 when he was promoted to vice president of sales operations. Later that year he was named vice president and general manager for the South Florida region.

In 2000, with the creation of Verizon Wireless, Lanman was appointed region president for the state of Florida.

Lanman was born and raised in the Washington, D.C. area. He graduated from the University of Maryland with a bachelor's degree in Marketing.

Keynote:
Thursday, October 21, 9:10am
Mobile Enterprise – Transforming Business with 4G LTE

Roger D. Linquist co-founded MetroPCS Communications and has served as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Directors since its inception, and its President from inception through June 2007, and Secretary from inception through October 2004. In 1989, Mr. Linquist founded PageMart Wireless (now USA Mobility), a U.S. paging company. He served as PageMart's Chief Executive Officer from 1989 to 1993, and as Chairman from 1989 through March 1994, when he resigned to form MetroPCS Communications. Mr. Linquist served as a director of PageMart Wireless from June 1989 to September 1997, and was a founding director of the Cellular Telecommunications and Internet Association.

Keynote:
Wednesday, October 20, 11:45am
Going 4G Our Own Way: MetroPCS’ Unique Path to Deliver No Contract Mobile Broadband

Keynote:
Thursday, October 21, 9:45am
Profitably Navigating the Mobile Internet Transformation

Glenn Lurie is President of Emerging Devices, National Resale and Partnerships for AT&T Mobility and Consumer Markets. Lurie leads AT&T’s strategic initiative to drive innovation in bringing wireless connectivity to a host of new devices and applications — including personal computers, eBooks/eReaders, in-car entertainment and portable navigation devices, digital cameras, and machine-to-machine communications solutions.

Lurie also has responsibilities for AT&T’s ongoing operations and relationship with Apple Inc., having led negotiations to bring the iPhone to AT&T. In addition, Lurie has responsibility for AT&T’s National Resale business and operations.

Glenn’s previous role was President of National Distribution for AT&T’s wireless operations, where he was responsible for business operations for the National Retail Channel, National Dealer Channel, Direct Mail/Direct Response team, National Resale Operations, att.com - AT&T’s web business – as well as AT&T’s Prepaid business and sales through all distribution channels.

Glenn joined the former AT&T Wireless in 1990, and held several sales, marketing and operation positions throughout his tenure. As Senior Vice President of AT&T’s West Region, he was responsible for the market operations in 10 western states, representing more than 40 percent of the company's overall business.

Prior to leading the company’s West Region operations, Lurie held senior executive positions including Regional Vice President for the California/Hawaii region and Vice President and General Manager for the Los Angeles/Southern California market after advancing from a similar position for Arizona.

Prior to entering the wireless industry, Lurie was a professional soccer player for teams representing Cleveland, Atlanta, Milwaukee and Portland.

Lurie was awarded the Atlanta Telecom Professional of the Year Award in 2009 from the Atlanta Telecoms Professionals Association. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Business/Marketing from Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, WA.

Keynote:
Tuesday, October 19, 9:10am
New Generation Devices for New Generation Networks

Michael brings with him nearly 30 years of experience in the technology industry, and a strong background in telecommunications, software, technology and innovation, having held senior positions at hardware and software companies and in both start-up and multinational companies. He is known as a passionate leader with a proven record in developing great teams and helping transform companies.

Michael is Head of Strategy and Business Development at Nokia Siemens Networks. In this role, he is responsible for bringing clarity to the role that Nokia Siemens Networks will play in the market as it continues to evolve. He also directs the company’s strategic planning and investments; M&A program; and strategic alliances and partnerships. As a member of Nokia Siemens Networks’ Global Executive Management Team, Michael reports directly to the company’s CEO, Rajeev Suri.

Michael was previously Chief Marketing Officer at Amdocs Inc, the leading provider of software and services for many of the world’s largest communications service providers. During his 5 years at Amdocs, he played a key role in leading the transformation of the company, addressing new markets, expanding the product line, and evolving the channel to address the rapidly changing needs of the telecom industry.

Between 1999 and 2002, he was the Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing, and an integral part of the start-up team at Groove Networks, a U.S. based software firm offering an enterprise collaboration platform, and one of the most successful start-ups of its time. Prior to this, he served in leadership positions across technology companies such as Platinum Technology, Sterling Software, and Digital Equipment Corporation in the United States and Australia.

Michael has a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Queensland, Australia.

Keynote:
Wednesday, October 20, 9:45am
Friend or Foe in the 4G Value Chain?

Bill Morrow is a seasoned telecom industry executive with a diversified background leading wireline and wireless communications companies in the U.S., Europe and Japan.

Prior to joining Clearwire on March 9, 2009, he served as President and CEO of Pacific Gas and Electric Company, a subsidiary of PG&E, where he oversaw a business with over $13 billion in annual revenue and more than 20,000 employees. During his tenure, he oversaw operations and successfully directed an overhaul aimed at improving the company’s efficiency, supply chain and customer focus, generating operational efficiencies and improved customer satisfaction.

Before joining PG&E, Morrow held several leadership positions at Vodafone, the number two wireless provider in the world with more than 133 million subscribers. At Vodafone, he served as CEO for Europe overseeing global marketing, global technology and the largest operating businesses in the company portfolio. Before being named CEO, he held market level responsibility as president of Vodafone K.K. in Tokyo, CEO of Vodafone Ltd in the UK, and was President of Japan Telecom, the third largest telecom company in Japan. Earlier in his career, he held several strategy and operations positions with Vodafone in the U.S. and Europe, and several international leadership positions with AirTouch.

He began his career at Pacific Bell, where he held several technology and engineering positions, including responsibility for company-wide operations of packet data products.

Keynote:
Wednesday, October 20, 9:10 am
Keynote: The Mobile Data Tidal Wave: How Clearwire’s 4G Network is Meeting Today’s Pent Up Demand for Mobile Broadband

Dr. Hideo Okinaka is Vice President and General Manager of Emerging Technologies and Spectrum Division at KDDI Corporation and responsible for industry and government relations on technology matters including investigation into emerging technologies, standards strategy, bridging the valley between standardisation and implementation, and spectrum affairs.  Prior to assuming the current role in April 2006, he was responsible for the corporate level technology strategy as Vice President and General Manager of Strategic Technology Management Division.  Until March 2004, he had been working on the cellular telephone business since 1991, including business development strategy for the KDDI’s “au” business unit as Vice President, the Japanese TDMA and IMT-2000 system development, and licence bidding in offshore markets.  Prior to this, he spent 14 years for R&D primarily on the satellite communication system engineering with particular emphasis on mobile satellite systems at KDD and Inmarsat.

He currently serves on the Board of Directors of WiMAX Forum.  He was the Chair of 3GPP2 Steering Committee in 2003-2004 term and also served as the Chair of 3GPP2 TSG-S, Services and Systems Aspects working group, from its foundation in 1999 till January 2001.  He was also a member of the Board of Directors of Mobile Wireless Internet Forum (MWIF) during the entire period of its life.

Dr. Okinaka received Morita Prize and Achievement Award from the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communications Engineers of Japan for his contribution to the development of digital mobile satellite communication systems.  He was also praised by Recognition Award from the ITU Association of Japan for his contribution to the 3G mobile system standardisation.  He earned a B.S. degree in applied physics, a M.S. degree in physics and a Dr. Engineering degree in communication science from Waseda University.

Keynote:
Tuesday, October 19, 11:00 am
Accomodating the Growing Demand for Mobile Broadband: Opportunities and Challenges

Steve Pazol is president, nPhase, a Verizon Wireless / Qualcomm joint venture, where he directs all aspects of the company's operations, strategic development and execution. nPhase provides machine-to-machine (M2M) wireless communications and smart services offerings across a wide variety of market segments, including healthcare, manufacturing, utilities, distribution and consumer products. Previously Pazol was vice president and general manager for the Global Smart Services group for Qualcomm Enterprise Services, the group that provided the basis for the newly formed joint venture. Pazol is a seasoned entrepreneur and CEO with a 20+ year track record of successful startups in high technology and emerging markets, including M2M (machine to machine), enterprise software and wireless technologies. Prior to joining Qualcomm, Pazol was the founder and CEO of the original nPhase which was acquired by Qualcomm in 2006. A recognized thought leader and industry expert, Pazol has received numerous awards, including the prestigious Chicago Innovation Award, was named one of the original 10 M2M Pioneers by M2M Magazine, and served as moderator of the first M2M web log—M2Mblog. He has written numerous articles in technology journals, is on the Advisory Board of M2M Magazine, was the technical editor of the Unicenter Advisor magazine for more than 7 years as well as guest editor of Internet Security Advisor. He is also the technical editor and co-author of Unicenter TNG for Dummies. A frequent speaker at industry conferences, Pazol has also been a featured speaker and panel member at multiple Wharton School of Business, University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and Northwestern Business School entrepreneurial classes. Prior to founding nPhase, Pazol spent 15 years providing consulting and systems implementation services in the information technology field as President of Professional Consulting Services, Inc. and co-founder of Mehta & Pazol Consulting Services Pvt. Ltd. in Pune, India. In 2005 and 2006, Steve was also acting CEO of Skychain, a joint venture between nPhase, LLC and Air Products and Chemicals, Inc. Pazol has been active with a number of civic organizations and is currently on the board of SuperSibs!, a non-profit supporting the siblings of children with pediatric cancer. Pazol has a degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Michigan. Keynote: Thursday, October 21, 11:30 am M2M and 4G Networks:  The Present and the Future

Ken Wirth leads Alcatel-Lucent’s 4G/LTE Wireless Networks organization.  He is responsible for the end to end LTE solution which includes systems engineering, architecture, product management, technology and development, program delivery, partnerships and customer and sales support. 

Prior to this appointment, Ken was the Customer Unit leader for a major U.S. Carrier. He was responsible for managing this newly created business globally for all products, solutions, applications and services from Alcatel-Lucent to the Wireless and Wireline businesses.

Previously, Ken was President of the Lucent’s Multimedia Network Solutions organization since January 2005, where he had responsibility for the financial and business performance, strategy, product marketing, product management, technology and development across the access, data and optical networking segments.  Prior to that, he was President of Lucent’s Optical Networking Group.  Ken has held various management, marketing and sales assignments at AT&T and Lucent, including an assignment as Chief Financial Officer for AT&T Network Systems’ Access Products Group.

Ken joined AT&T in 1987 after launching his career with ITT Communication Services Group, where he was responsible for sales of telecom services to corporate accounts in the northeastern and southern regions of the United States.

Keynote:
Thursday, October 21, 9:10am
Mobile Enterprise – Transforming Business with 4G LTE