The Fiber Broadband Association on Thursday announced its board of directors has appointed Gary Bolton as the association’s new president and CEO, effective November 2.

The largest and only trade association in the Americas dedicated to the pursuit of all-fiber-optic network infrastructure to homes, businesses and more, the Fiber Broadband Association helps advance the strategic deployment of broadband networks with fiber optics.

Bolton, who brings to the association a wealth of communications industry experience, joins the association after most recently serving as vice president of Global Marketing and Government Affairs at Huntsville-based ADTRAN. Yellowhammer News has learned that he plans on remaining located in the Rocket City while at the helm of the Fiber Broadband Association, which could be beneficial to the state of Alabama.

“Gary is a strong leader with a great breadth of industry experience,” stated Katie Espeseth, chair of the board and vice president of New Products at EPB. “This is an exciting and challenging time for our members, the Association, and the industry as COVID-19 has laid bare the profound importance of connectivity for all of us. We’re lucky to have found a leader with Gary’s deep understanding of our industry who can take the helm at this important juncture.”

Bolton is also an adjunct professor in the college of business at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) and was the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber of Commerce president from 2018-2019.

“I am thrilled to join the Fiber Broadband Association in this role,” said Bolton. “Every day, our members work tirelessly to deliver the best connectivity to businesses and communities from coast to coast. I know this work well — in fact, I have built my career on it — and I look forward to bringing these experiences to help the Association work towards a faster, more efficient, better-connected world.”

Prior to ADTRAN, Bolton served on the executive team for two successful venture-backed broadband start-up companies and held executive and senior management roles at Ciena and Nortel. He has been deeply involved with the Fiber Broadband Association, previously chairing the finance and audit committee, the public policy committee and the marketing committee. He also served two terms as board treasurer and currently serves as vice chair of the board.

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn