Mr. Kevin Rocks serves as South Reach Networks (SRN)’s’ new Executive Vice President of Sales & Marketing. Reporting to President Michael Sevret, Rocks is responsible for leading the planning and execution of SRN’s global sales, marketing campaigns and customer relationship management initiatives. Rocks has more than 25 years of extensive global sales and marketing leadership experience in the telecommunications industry, including specializing in international telecom carriers, with a focus on dark fiber, Ethernet and data center connectivity. He will provide sales leadership and spearhead ROI-focused growth development initiatives for SRN, a global gateway for Latin America and the United States via an enterprise and carrier-class data center in Miami and on-net direct fiber access to multiple subsea cable landing points and data centers.
We’re delighted to talk to him today to give you all a chance to get to know him further.
Since joining South Reach Networks last October, what initiatives have you been working on?
We are spearheading a number of initiatives, all of which focus on or around the SRN fiber backbone from Miami to Jacksonville and onto Atlanta. Extending our lateral fiber into key metro markets to bring on new Enterprise buildings and data centers is one of those initiatives. Additionally, we are delivering high capacity Ethernet and Wavelength services between data centers and utilizing our backbone to provide diversity. Extending our fiber into some of the more geographically dispersed areas along the coastal region in Central Florida is a major focus, supporting our MicroEDGE data centers with fiber to serve cellular backhaul, municipalities and communities, are among those initiatives.
What makes you most excited to work for SRN?
The opportunity to provide technology solutions supported by unique network assets in a high growth region. Being part of a first-class team of seasoned professionals that can deliver and execute on that vision.
You’ve held a prominent career in the telecom industry. What is your favorite part about working in telecom?
Participating in an ever-changing sea of technological change, working alongside the companies that harness and propel the services that help customers in their businesses, whether through the technology itself or through the efficiencies and economies-of-scale that those technologies bring. Serving customers both domestically and internationally.
When it comes to our nation (and world’s) current state of affairs, what has been the biggest challenge so far this year in the business world, and how have you met this challenge head-on?
Each companies’ challenge is different from the next one, depending on many factors, particularly the industry and types of customers they serve. Telecom and technology as a whole has been quite fortunate in that the current situation in many cases has accelerated the need for new services that support a distributed workforce and customer base. The biggest challenge is to stay focused on the vision for the company and the day-to-day deliverables. The team at SRN and I have met this challenge by staying laser focused on the tasks at hand within our markets, maintaining high responsiveness to customer needs, and tuning out the ever-present noise around us. We realize that we cannot influence some of the larger issues of the day, but we can have great effect in serving customers throughout the globe whose network requirements connect through or within the Southeast US region.
Where do you see SRN in the next six months?
I see SRN becoming even more of a well-known name in the telecom industry, recognized as a nimble, dynamic service provider and first-rate carrier partner. With the trifecta of dark fiber, data center and lit services to offer, I envision SRN becoming known amongst our peers and customers for our ability to tackle large and complex network requirements with a minimal amount of bureaucracy and a focus on execution and timely delivery.
Changing topics a bit, tell us a little about yourself! Where do you live, and what do you like to do for fun?
I live in Northern New Jersey and enjoy activities like skiing, kayaking, fishing, hiking, running and music. These activities are most often enjoyed with my family and close friends.
And just to have a little more fun – if you could have one superpower, what would it be, and why?
The ability to snap my fingers and be in a different location instantly (teleportation). I enjoy travelling both for work and pleasure, which has been curtailed somewhat this past year. It is very satisfying to me when I’ve been to several interesting places, particularly all within a short time frame.