CenturyLink Appoints Former Dell EMC, Level 3 Execs To Head Up Marketing, Product Management
Telecom giant CenturyLink Tuesday said it is bringing on two new executives following the close of its $34 billion Level 3 Communications takeover at the end of 2017.
Gaurav Chand, the former global senior vice president, marketing infrastructure solutions group for Dell EMC, is joining CenturyLink as the carrier's executive vice president of marketing. Shaun Andrews has been named executive vice president, product management for CenturyLink, having most recently served as senior vice president, IP and real-time communications for Level 3.
Chand and Andrews will report to CenturyLink President and Chief Operating Officer Jeff Storey.
Prior to the close of CenturyLink's Level 3 acquisition, the carrier made a slew of leadership changes. For one, Storey, who formerly led Level 3 as CEO, will step in as CenturyLink's CEO following the retirement of current Chairman and CEO Glen Post in January 2019.
In September, John DeLozier, CenturyLink's vice president of the Channel Alliance program, told CRN that at he would be splitting the role of channel chief with Level 3's vice president of indirect sales, Garrett Gee, at the start of 2018.
DeLozier is now serving as vice president, indirect strategic partnerships and alliances for CenturyLink. DeLozier is responsible for the company's top 25 strategic partners globally, which includes its community of master agent partners. Gee is now responsible for execution in the field, including sales within CenturyLink's territories.
CenturyLink in June also named the presidents of each of the five business units that make up the new company, which included a mix of Level 3 and existing CenturyLink executives.
In his new role with CenturyLink, Chand is responsible for marketing strategy, marketing communications, brand and customer experience. He's also being tasked with development of the company's digital transformation strategy and the company's digital interaction with customers, including buying services, obtaining support and using automated services for provisioning, according to the Monroe, La.-based carrier.
Andrews, a telecom veteran with more than two decades of experience, will focus on CenturyLink's go-to market strategy, pricing, product management and product marketing. Before his role with Level 3, Andrews held several senior-level product and business development and management roles with business communications provider IntelePeer, WilTel Communications before it was bought by Level 3, and SBC Communications before it became AT&T.
CenturyLink's Level 3 deal has made the combined carrier the second largest fiber provider in the U.S. following AT&T. CenturyLink today reaches over 350 metropolitan areas with more than 100,000 fiber-lit buildings. Moving forward this year, the combined company expects to earn about 75 percent of its core revenue from enterprise customers.