Ahmad Malkawi
Ahmad Malkawi has worked for +20 years in the mobile/wireless industry for tier1 companies including AT&T, T-Mobile and Qualcomm. He founded Global Telecom to address a major gap in the development of modules – the “brains” at the heart of every smart device (from your iPhone to your Roomba and your Nest to your car). Global Telecom is the only U.S. manufacturer of these devices at a time when China has rapidly taken nearly two-thirds market share in recent years. His emphasis on homegrown technology with elite security (a special form of blockchain that keeps foreign entities out of your computer systems) has proven to be very prescient. These “driverless” and “host-less” modules just earned him a second U.S. patent, which was awarded in May 2020. And with 5G finally becoming a reality across the globe, analysts predict the number of modules in our homes and offices to jump by at least 10 fold in the next five years. Ahmad has positioned this company to takeoff with big name partners and proprietary technology that’s second to none.
Most recently, Ahmad led Global Telecom with awards including Association Corporate Growth (ACG), IOT Evolution Product of the year, Hottest New IOT Device and many other awards.
Ahmad Malkawi
Ahmad Malkawi has worked for +20 years in the mobile/wireless industry for tier1 companies including AT&T, T-Mobile and Qualcomm. He founded Global Telecom to address a major gap in the development of modules – the “brains” at the heart of every smart device (from your iPhone to your Roomba and your Nest to your car). Global Telecom is the only U.S. manufacturer of these devices at a time when China has rapidly taken nearly two-thirds market share in recent years. His emphasis on homegrown technology with elite security (a special form of blockchain that keeps foreign entities out of your computer systems) has proven to be very prescient. These “driverless” and “host-less” modules just earned him a second U.S. patent, which was awarded in May 2020. And with 5G finally becoming a reality across the globe, analysts predict the number of modules in our homes and offices to jump by at least 10 fold in the next five years. Ahmad has positioned this company to takeoff with big name partners and proprietary technology that’s second to none.
Most recently, Ahmad led Global Telecom with awards including Association Corporate Growth (ACG), IOT Evolution Product of the year, Hottest New IOT Device and many other awards.
Ivo Rook
Former EVP and CEO, IOT – T-Mobile and Vodafone
Ivo Rook has been at the forefront of the telecommunications industry for more than 20 years and is an early adopter and innovator of IoT since its inception. He is currently Chief Operating Officer for 1NCE, a company offering a software platform for connected products. 1NCE was founded in 2018 to enable IoT to flow like electricity — always on, always ready for consumption, always serving the public with an invaluable resource for the future. The 1NCE Lifetime Flat license is disruptive but simple: customers can deploy, connect, and manage IoT sensors across the world for as little as a dollar per year per device. More than 15,000 customers worldwide and 60+ Fortune 500 companies have already trusted 1NCE with more than 20 million connected products across 165 countries and regions. Working for I Squared Capital and SoftBank Group, Rook led the $50 million Series B round for 1NCE. Impressed by 1NCE’s advanced technology solutions, Rook joined the leadership team in November 2021. Rook operationally leads the rapidly growing multinational company and has spearheaded expansion into the United States, LATAM and Asia, growing the company’s footprint from 100 countries to 165 today while tripling revenues for two consecutive years. 1NCE was named to Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech list in 2022, and has received industry awards and recognition from Fierce Telecom, IoT Evolution, Juniper Research, Light Reading and more. Previously, Rook was Senior Vice President at Sprint/T-Mobile. There, he oversaw the company’s B2B and IoT portfolio, generating $1 billion+ in sales. He was responsible for the launch of Curiosity, Sprint’s flagship IoT platform — the first dedicated, virtualized, and distributed IoT core network and integrated operating system — for which he earned the prestigious Leading Lights award for “Most Innovative M2M/IoT Strategy” (2019). During Sprint’s $26 billion merger with TMobile, he strategically led the integration of the telecom giants’ IoT portfolios. At Vodafone, Rook directed the IoT business unit, responsible for €800 million/year with 1,300 employees across 30 countries. Before being appointed CEO of Vodafone IoT, he successfully turned around the company’s struggling €1.7 billion/year fixed line business – his leadership transformed the business unit from a seven percent annual decline to a four percent annual growth rate in less than two years. Rook is well recognized as a digital and IoT thought leader, including being named an industry visionary by Gartner, and authoring the book, “Information as a Management Tool,” (Wolters Kluwer Management, 1997); he also co-authored “Transformational Sales,” (Springer, 2015). He is a frequent speaker at industry events, including giving keynote speeches and televised live interviews at renowned forums such as CES and Mobile World Congress. Rook is fluent in four languages (Dutch, English, French and German) and received an M.S. in Information Management from Erasmus University Rotterdam. He holds 11 patents related to IoT and blockchain technology (4 granted, 7 pending). Additionally, he serves as an advisor to I Squared Capital, a private equity firm with more than $13 billion in assets under management, and non-executive board member of Global Telecom, one of the only U.S.-based manufacturers of IoT modules (a foundational technology in the billions of devices in the global IoT). He is also a member of the advisory board of Digitize Things Inc, an IoT software development company
Ivo Rook
Former EVP and CEO, IOT – T-Mobile and Vodafone
Ivo Rook has been at the forefront of the telecommunications industry for more than 20 years and is an early adopter and innovator of IoT since its inception. He is currently Chief Operating Officer for 1NCE, a company offering a software platform for connected products. 1NCE was founded in 2018 to enable IoT to flow like electricity — always on, always ready for consumption, always serving the public with an invaluable resource for the future. The 1NCE Lifetime Flat license is disruptive but simple: customers can deploy, connect, and manage IoT sensors across the world for as little as a dollar per year per device. More than 15,000 customers worldwide and 60+ Fortune 500 companies have already trusted 1NCE with more than 20 million connected products across 165 countries and regions. Working for I Squared Capital and SoftBank Group, Rook led the $50 million Series B round for 1NCE. Impressed by 1NCE’s advanced technology solutions, Rook joined the leadership team in November 2021. Rook operationally leads the rapidly growing multinational company and has spearheaded expansion into the United States, LATAM and Asia, growing the company’s footprint from 100 countries to 165 today while tripling revenues for two consecutive years. 1NCE was named to Fast Company’s Next Big Things in Tech list in 2022, and has received industry awards and recognition from Fierce Telecom, IoT Evolution, Juniper Research, Light Reading and more. Previously, Rook was Senior Vice President at Sprint/T-Mobile. There, he oversaw the company’s B2B and IoT portfolio, generating $1 billion+ in sales. He was responsible for the launch of Curiosity, Sprint’s flagship IoT platform — the first dedicated, virtualized, and distributed IoT core network and integrated operating system — for which he earned the prestigious Leading Lights award for “Most Innovative M2M/IoT Strategy” (2019). During Sprint’s $26 billion merger with TMobile, he strategically led the integration of the telecom giants’ IoT portfolios. At Vodafone, Rook directed the IoT business unit, responsible for €800 million/year with 1,300 employees across 30 countries. Before being appointed CEO of Vodafone IoT, he successfully turned around the company’s struggling €1.7 billion/year fixed line business – his leadership transformed the business unit from a seven percent annual decline to a four percent annual growth rate in less than two years. Rook is well recognized as a digital and IoT thought leader, including being named an industry visionary by Gartner, and authoring the book, “Information as a Management Tool,” (Wolters Kluwer Management, 1997); he also co-authored “Transformational Sales,” (Springer, 2015). He is a frequent speaker at industry events, including giving keynote speeches and televised live interviews at renowned forums such as CES and Mobile World Congress. Rook is fluent in four languages (Dutch, English, French and German) and received an M.S. in Information Management from Erasmus University Rotterdam. He holds 11 patents related to IoT and blockchain technology (4 granted, 7 pending). Additionally, he serves as an advisor to I Squared Capital, a private equity firm with more than $13 billion in assets under management, and non-executive board member of Global Telecom, one of the only U.S.-based manufacturers of IoT modules (a foundational technology in the billions of devices in the global IoT). He is also a member of the advisory board of Digitize Things Inc, an IoT software development company
Former EVP and CEO, IOT – T-Mobile and Vodafone
Andrada Costoiu
Andrada has a background and experience both in academics as well as business. She is the Associate Director of the Ethics Center Summer Mentoring Program at the University of Irvine, California. She teaches classes in human rights, social justice, and equality. She is also a writer; her latest novel, Under the Iron Curtain, set in communist Romania, was published by Niculescu Publishing House, Bucharest, in July 2021.
Outside of academic life, she had the opportunity to be part of different governmental agencies and international organizations. Her experience with international organizations started in her early years, as a student when she became an active and one of the founding members of AIESEC Bucharest (International Association of Students in Economics and Business Management). She was part of the team that set up the organizational foundation and that developed pilot programs for this NGO.
Later on, she moved to become part of the Romanian Foreign Trade Center in Bucharest, where she analyzed market forecasts, worked to establish goals and strategies for the Ministry of Commerce, and maintained and fostered contacts between Romanian and foreign business partners.
She also worked on evaluation committees for social sciences projects and evaluated research projects meant to be funded by the European Union.
Andrada Costoiu
Andrada has a background and experience both in academics as well as business. She is the Associate Director of the Ethics Center Summer Mentoring Program at the University of Irvine, California. She teaches classes in human rights, social justice, and equality. She is also a writer; her latest novel, Under the Iron Curtain, set in communist Romania, was published by Niculescu Publishing House, Bucharest, in July 2021.
Outside of academic life, she had the opportunity to be part of different governmental agencies and international organizations. Her experience with international organizations started in her early years, as a student when she became an active and one of the founding members of AIESEC Bucharest (International Association of Students in Economics and Business Management). She was part of the team that set up the organizational foundation and that developed pilot programs for this NGO.
Later on, she moved to become part of the Romanian Foreign Trade Center in Bucharest, where she analyzed market forecasts, worked to establish goals and strategies for the Ministry of Commerce, and maintained and fostered contacts between Romanian and foreign business partners.
She also worked on evaluation committees for social sciences projects and evaluated research projects meant to be funded by the European Union.
Glenn Lurie
Mr. Lurie has been a director since May 2018. Mr. Lurie was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. from November 2017 to September 2020. Prior to joining Synchronoss, Mr. Lurie was employed by AT&T for 27 years and was President and Chief Executive Officer of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Operations when he retired in September of 2017. Mr. Lurie helped usher in the smartphone era by leading negotiations for AT&T with Apple for the first iPhone and then for the first iPad. He built three groundbreaking businesses at AT&T: IoT (Internet of Things) business – bringing wireless connectivity to tablets, cars, connected cities and consumer electronics; Digital Life – AT&T’s home automation and security business; and the launch of Aio Wireless – now Cricket Wireless, the company’s industry-leading prepaid flanker brand. At AT&T, Mr. Lurie served in a variety of leadership roles, including as President and Chief Executive Officer of Mobility and Consumer Operations from 2016 to 2017, President and Chief Executive Officer of AT&T Mobility from 2014 to 2016, President of Emerging Enterprises and Partnerships Organization from 2011 to 2014 and President of Emerging Devices Organization (now IoT Organization) from 2008 to 2011. Mr. Lurie previously served as a director of Synchronoss, which files reports pursuant to the Exchange Act. Mr. Lurie also serves as a director of Pivotal Commware, Inc., which develops communications platforms, systems and applications.
Glenn Lurie
Mr. Lurie has been a director since May 2018. Mr. Lurie was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Synchronoss Technologies, Inc. from November 2017 to September 2020. Prior to joining Synchronoss, Mr. Lurie was employed by AT&T for 27 years and was President and Chief Executive Officer of AT&T Mobility and Consumer Operations when he retired in September of 2017. Mr. Lurie helped usher in the smartphone era by leading negotiations for AT&T with Apple for the first iPhone and then for the first iPad. He built three groundbreaking businesses at AT&T: IoT (Internet of Things) business – bringing wireless connectivity to tablets, cars, connected cities and consumer electronics; Digital Life – AT&T’s home automation and security business; and the launch of Aio Wireless – now Cricket Wireless, the company’s industry-leading prepaid flanker brand. At AT&T, Mr. Lurie served in a variety of leadership roles, including as President and Chief Executive Officer of Mobility and Consumer Operations from 2016 to 2017, President and Chief Executive Officer of AT&T Mobility from 2014 to 2016, President of Emerging Enterprises and Partnerships Organization from 2011 to 2014 and President of Emerging Devices Organization (now IoT Organization) from 2008 to 2011. Mr. Lurie previously served as a director of Synchronoss, which files reports pursuant to the Exchange Act. Mr. Lurie also serves as a director of Pivotal Commware, Inc., which develops communications platforms, systems and applications.
Toby Farrand
Ooma
Toby is the vice president of engineering and operations of Ooma and oversees all of Ooma’s technical development, manufacturing and engineering.
Toby has spent over 30 years creating high-tech products, from personal computers (at Apple for 10 years) and video game consoles (3DO), to satellite networking systems (founder and CEO of BroadLogic) and home broadband media centers (Moxi Digital and Digeo).
Toby holds BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.
Toby Farrand
Ooma
Toby is the vice president of engineering and operations of Ooma and oversees all of Ooma’s technical development, manufacturing and engineering.
Toby has spent over 30 years creating high-tech products, from personal computers (at Apple for 10 years) and video game consoles (3DO), to satellite networking systems (founder and CEO of BroadLogic) and home broadband media centers (Moxi Digital and Digeo).
Toby holds BS and MS degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University.
Ooma
Kyle Pickens
Vice President of Strategy – Globalstar
Executive Officer – ARES Nevada
Kyle Pickens, CFA, is a partner at Thermo Companies, a private holding company based in Denver, Colorado, where he directs the investment activities in Thermo’s public, venture and fixed income portfolios. Thermo is an active investor across telecom, oil and gas, renewables, real estate and other technology sectors.
Mr. Pickens serves on the boards of several Thermo companies including Pivotal Commware (Telecom), ARES North America (Renewables), SeQure (Cybersecurity), Global Telecom (Telecom) and Recon Dynamics (IoT). In an operational capacity, he serves as Vice President of Strategy at Thermo controlled Globalstar, with the responsibility of driving the company’s growth initiatives, most notably commercialization efforts for its global terrestrial spectrum assets.
Mr. Pickens joined Globalstar from Steelhead Partners, a Seattle based Hedge Fund. Mr. Pickens joined Steelhead as an analyst at the end of 2009 and was promoted to Partner of the Navigator funds in 2015. At Steelhead, his responsibilities included coverage of the Telecom, Media and Technology space. Previously, Mr. Pickens was with New York based Cadogan Management LLC, where he was a director and an investment committee member. He interned at Cadogan while an undergraduate student, then joined full time as an analyst upon graduating in 2002.
Mr. Pickens holds a B.S. in Finance and Information Systems from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He resides in Charlotte, NC with his wife and two daughters.
Kyle Pickens
Vice President of Strategy – Globalstar
Executive Officer – ARES Nevada
Kyle Pickens, CFA, is a partner at Thermo Companies, a private holding company based in Denver, Colorado, where he directs the investment activities in Thermo’s public, venture and fixed income portfolios. Thermo is an active investor across telecom, oil and gas, renewables, real estate and other technology sectors.
Mr. Pickens serves on the boards of several Thermo companies including Pivotal Commware (Telecom), ARES North America (Renewables), SeQure (Cybersecurity), Global Telecom (Telecom) and Recon Dynamics (IoT). In an operational capacity, he serves as Vice President of Strategy at Thermo controlled Globalstar, with the responsibility of driving the company’s growth initiatives, most notably commercialization efforts for its global terrestrial spectrum assets.
Mr. Pickens joined Globalstar from Steelhead Partners, a Seattle based Hedge Fund. Mr. Pickens joined Steelhead as an analyst at the end of 2009 and was promoted to Partner of the Navigator funds in 2015. At Steelhead, his responsibilities included coverage of the Telecom, Media and Technology space. Previously, Mr. Pickens was with New York based Cadogan Management LLC, where he was a director and an investment committee member. He interned at Cadogan while an undergraduate student, then joined full time as an analyst upon graduating in 2002.
Mr. Pickens holds a B.S. in Finance and Information Systems from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He resides in Charlotte, NC with his wife and two daughters.
Vice President of Strategy – Globalstar
Executive Officer – ARES Nevada