Kevin Brand Appointed Interim Chief Executive Officer and Promoted to President and Chief Operating Officer
ATLANTA, Oct. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Fusion (OTC-MKTS: FSNNQ), a leading provider of cloud services, today announced that the company's Board of Directors has appointed Kevin Brand, most recently Fusion's Senior Vice President – Customer Experience, as interim Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Brand succeeds Matthew Rosen, who has resigned as Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Rosen will continue to serve as Chairman of the company's Board of Directors until Fusion has emerged from its chapter 11 process to ensure a smooth transition. Fusion's board will undertake a search to identify the company's next CEO.
Additionally, the Board has promoted Mr. Brand to the position of President and Chief Operating Officer of Fusion, succeeding Russell P. Markman who has resigned as President and COO. Both Mr. Rosen and Mr. Markman will serve as advisors to Fusion's executive management team during a transition period after the company's emergence from chapter 11.
Mr. Brand joined Fusion as part of the company's acquisition of the Cloud and Business Services business of Birch Communications Holdings, Inc. ("Birch") in May 2018. He has more than 30 years of experience in the communications and technology industry, having led businesses through a wide range of lifecycles including those generating mature revenue streams in excess of $700 million annually, while focusing on new product development and cash flow generation.
Mr. Brand stated, "Fusion today has a unique opportunity as we evolve our business, while at the same time completing our financial restructuring with a significantly enhanced capital structure. We have continued to win new customers and improve our service levels throughout the restructuring process, and will have the financial strength and flexibility needed to innovate and adapt in ways that allow us to even better serve our customers in the future. I look forward to working with the entire Fusion team, as well as our partners and customers, to profit from the many opportunities in front of us."
Prior to joining Birch in 2017, Mr. Brand spent 15 years in leadership roles at EarthLink including EVP, Business Services, Consumer Products and Support, where he led the Consumer Internet Business and the Small Business Services Unit, as well as Customer Support and Service Delivery. Previously, he led EarthLink's Network Operations and Network Engineering teams. Earlier in his career, Mr. Brand held senior roles at AT&T and started his career at Bell Labs. Mr. Brand holds a B.S. in Systems Science and Mathematics from Washington University in St. Louis and an M.S. in Operations Research from the University of California at Berkeley.
Fusion's board stated: "Matt's vision and leadership have been instrumental in driving Fusion's strategy, innovation and growth. We are thankful for his past contributions and look forward to his continued contributions to the success of the company."
Mr. Rosen stated, "Now that Fusion has a clear path to complete its financial restructuring this calendar year, I have decided that it is the right time for me to pursue new challenges. I have had the privilege to lead Fusion through its transformation from a $2 million telecommunications carrier to a leading software and cloud services provider generating over $525 million in annual revenue. I am also grateful to Russell for keeping our core operations strong over the years and throughout this process and for the significant operational improvements that will serve as a foundation for the company's future. We have created an industry-leading business with a significant market opportunity based on a strong product and service portfolio, a large and valuable customer base, and a great group of technology professionals."
Mr. Rosen continued, "Kevin has been an important member of Fusion's executive team, managing the successful integration of the Customer Care organization following the acquisitions of Birch and MegaPath while delivering solid improvements in operating performance, customer satisfaction and churn. His diverse set of skills in management, operations, customer support, service delivery, product management, and network engineering positions him well to lead the company."
