DZS Appoints Chief Operating Officer for Asia and Chief Customer Officer for Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa Regions

DALLAS, July 12, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- DZS (Nasdaq: DZSI), a global leader of access, optical and cloud-controlled software defined solutions, today announced that it has appointed Daniel Won Chief Operating Officer for Asia and Gunter Reiss Chief Customer Officer for the Americas, Europe, Middle East and Africa (AEMEA) regions. Both executives will report to DZS President and Chief Executive Officer Charlie Vogt. Won will be responsible for sales and regional operational activities for the Asia region and Reiss will oversee sales, marketing and business development for AEMEA.

“This new leadership structure allows us to implement the required product, sales and operational strategy aligned with the unique market dynamics in Asia compared to North America and EMEA,” said Vogt. “Daniel’s in-depth knowledge of the Asia market and valuable relationships with marquee customers in the region will allow us to streamline operational controls and amplify our momentum in Asia. Gunter joined DZS from A10 and Ericsson, bringing to the company experience and relationships across the AEMEA region. DZS is among a small peer group delivering next-generation fixed and mobile broadband infrastructure and cloud-connected software solutions aligned with more than $120 billion dollars of government funding to bridge the digital divide.”

Won has more than thirty years of experience in the communications industry that spans several disciplines, including executive management, sales, operations and engineering. Prior to his current role, Won was Chief Customer Officer for Asia and Chief Product Officer at DZS and previously served as President of DASAN Networks Solutions prior to the merger in 2016 creating current DZS. Won has distinguished himself as an industry leader, establishing partnerships with marquee service providers in the region. Prior to DZS, he held various executive positions at LG and Cisco Systems.

“Charlie has transformed DZS into a global brand, prioritizing innovation and a customer-first culture,” said Won. “The newly designed regional structure, balanced by global governance and oversight will enable the two regions to flourish while remaining an integral part of the unique corporate culture we have created. We are continuing to experience great momentum with large scale fixed and mobile broadband projects across the Asia region. I have been fortunate to have the opportunity to lead such a talented team and partner with very innovative customers. I look forward to working with our global team to maximize our opportunities in this unique time in our industry’s history.”

Since joining DZS in February 2022, Reiss has become an integral part of the executive leadership team and has a deep understanding of technology and market dynamics and a passion for the DZS customer community. He has been a visionary in the industry, speaking at transformational events such as Fiber Connect, NTCA RTIME, Broadband Forum, BREKO Jahrestagung and Mobile World Live. During his role as DZS Chief Marketing Officer, Reiss led the company’s brand and go-to-market initiatives positioning DZS as a disruptor in the broadband access and metro optical transport markets and developed strategic service provider relationships and global technology partnerships. Prior to DZS, Reiss was a member of the executive leadership team at A10 and before that, he was an integral part of the leadership team at Ericsson leading global strategy and business development for IP, broadband access, 4G/5G packet core, optical transport and microwave.

“I am thrilled to assume the role of Chief Customer Officer and lead the next chapter of the company’s growth and market expansion with a relentless focus on customer advocacy in AEMEA,” said Reiss. “DZS is a true innovator and disruptor in the market, delivering groundbreaking broadband solutions that enable the smart home and enterprise of the future. I look forward to learning from and working closely with Charlie, as well as partnering with the broader DZS leadership team. As we exit a challenging dynamic supply chain environment, our relentless focus will be to provide our customers with the best technology and support experience.”

Governments around the world have dedicated billions of dollars to deploying fiber and other high speed digital services to citizens in their countries over the next five years, especially those in underserved and unserved communities, and to encourage the adoption of trusted vendors. The Biden Administration recently announced its allocation plans for the $42.5 billion BEAD Program, which includes key Build America, Buy America (BABA) and reporting requirements. Germany has allocated more than €43 billion in private and public funds for fiber deployments. DZS is committed to helping the German broadband association BREKO’s 450 members deploy fiber to all citizens in the country by 2030. The United Kingdom has allotted roughly £17 billion to bring next-generation Fiber-to-the-Premises (FTTP) services to its residents by 2030 as well. In Asia, governments continue to make major investments and create incentives for next-generation fiber and mobile broadband technology adoption. DZS has architected its solutions to capitalize on these and other stimulus and security projects and is extremely well positioned to help its service provider customers deliver the next-generation technology required in these programs versus the competition.

The first-of-its-kind environmentally hardened DZS Saber 4400 platform changes the economics of optical transport with high bandwidth, long reach capabilities and the DZS Velocity V6 Fiber Access system includes record-shattering capacity while offering the ability for in-place upgrades to 50-gigabit Passive Optical Networking (PON) capabilities and beyond. The DZS Cloud platform, which includes award-winning DZS Xtreme, Expresse and CloudCheck solutions, offers critical support for long-term service provider success, essential reporting to meet government broadband stimulus program requirements, rapid turn-up and management of new broadband services, optimized network troubleshooting and the personalization and monetization of new broadband services in the home and business.

To learn more about DZS, visit https://www.dzsi.com.

About DZS

DZS Inc. (Nasdaq: DZSI) is a global leader of access, optical and cloud-controlled software defined solutions.

DZS, the DZS logo, and all DZS product names are trademarks of DZS Inc. Other brand and product names are trademarks of their respective holders. Specifications, products, and/or product names are all subject to change.

This press release contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and our future results that are subject to the safe harbors created under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements reflect the beliefs and assumptions of the Company’s management as of the date hereof. Words such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “continue,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “forecast,” “goal,” “intend,” “may,” “plan,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “target,” “will,” “would,” variations of such words, and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are only predictions and are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions that are difficult to predict. The Company’s actual results could differ materially and adversely from those expressed in or contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ include, but are not limited to, those risk factors contained in the Company’s SEC filings available at www.sec.gov, including without limitation, the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and subsequent filings.  In addition, additional or unforeseen affects from the COVID-19 pandemic and the global economic climate may give rise to or amplify many of these risks. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which they are made. DZS undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements for any reason.

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