There are many measures to success, but some are more subtle than others. On a day-to-day basis, service providers can count homes passed, homes connected, number of paying customers, and average revenue per user (ARPU) while equipment manufacturers measure the number of items shipped, EBITDA, revenue, and profits as some of their benchmarks.
But it is leadership that builds and sustains a company’s success over decades of operation. Leadership isn’t something that’s cleanly measured on a spreadsheet or a quarterly statement, but Wall Street recognizes the value of experienced executives as they grow firms and evolve management strategies over time that are attuned to ever-changing market conditions.
Clearfield has been fortunate to build, develop, and retain a stellar leadership team in its 16 years (and counting!) of operations through the guidance and efforts of CEO Cheri Beranek. Cheri’s insightful management style and extensive experience continue to deliver outstanding corporate performance measured by Wall Street and the continued customer growth and retention that makes the company a vital part of the fiber ecosystem.
Under Cheri’s direction, Clearfield has gained Forbes recognition as America’s Best Small Company three times, the most recent in 2022, ranking 4th in Forbes Top 100 Small Cap Company listing. From its humble start, Beranek has guided Clearfield into a multi-national business with more than 400 employees and over 1,200 customers, as a leading provider of fiber protection, fiber management and fiber delivery solutions that enable rapid and cost-effective broadband deployment.
Leadership means anticipating where the world is going and shaping business plans and resources to meet the needs of customers. For instance, Clearfield has continued to integrate and refine its supply chain, making and executing plans to continue its investments in onshore production far in advance of BEAD Build America, Buy America (BABA) requirements. Our products are continually evolving to be the “right” solution for building networks, with innovations such as the CraftSmart® Fiber Protection Vault with its inherent benefits to shipping and inventory space and progressively right-sizing the FiberFlex and other cabinet solutions by balancing flexibility and needed build capacity.
Cheri’s leadership has been independently recognized outside of Wall Street earnings statements with numerous awards and honors, including the 2024 Women Changing Fiber for Good Award in the Fiber Broadband Association’s Fiber Forward AMPLIFY Awards, being named an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year® 2023 Heartland Award winner, induction into the Minnesota Business Hall of Fame in 2021, the 2016 Minnesota Technology Executive of the Year by Tech.MN, 2016 Female Executive of the Year in New York City by the International Stevie Awards, 2012 Women in Wireline from Fierce Telecom, Stevie Awards for Business in 2011 as a finalist for Best Executive for non-services businesses and the 2009 Turn-Around of the Year, as well as the Twin Cities Business Journal’s Industry Leader Award in 2009 and Women to Watch award in 2004.
While it may seem excessive to cite this full list of awards, it is important because it provides a series of milestones over time with different organizations recognizing Cheri’s achievements over her tenure at Clearfield. As you can see, consistent quality leadership delivers continued quality results. And, to borrow and mangle a SEC legal phrase, while past performance is no guarantee of future results, 16 years of good results with the same CEO is more than likely to deliver good results in the future.
Kevin leads the marketing efforts for Clearfield as Chief Marketing Officer. He joined the fiber company in 2016, leveraging his extensive experience in advanced communications technology, fiber optic systems, and business product marketing. Prior to joining Clearfield, he spent two decades serving in various senior marketing positions at ADTRAN. Before that, he spent a decade at telephone operating company BellSouth, now a part of AT&T, where he worked as the lead broadband product evaluations resource in the Science & Technology department.
Morgan currently serves on the Fiber Broadband Association Senior Council Committee and has also held various leadership positions at the Fiber Broadband Association, including Board of Directors Chair for 2015, 2019, and 2022. Morgan holds an Electrical Engineering degree from Auburn University and an MBA from the University of Alabama.