DZS Names Andrew Finkelstein as SVP, North America Sales

DZS, a global enabler in access networking and cloud software solutions, has appointed Andrew Finkelstein as Senior Vice President, North America Sales. Finkelstein joins DZS from Casa Systems, bringing two decades of fixed and mobile access networking experience to DZS as well as long-term customer and channel partner relationships across the region.

In 2021, DZS achieved record orders, revenue and backlog while adding a record 53 new customers in the Americas region. Revenue from the region increased 64% and orders doubled year-over-year. Looking to build on this momentum, Mr. Finkelstein will lead North American sales as DZS aims to take full advantage of the technology and resource investments the company has made over the past 18 months.

“In 2021, DZS performed exceptionally well and achieved multiple strategic milestones including acquiring two innovative companies, surpassing 1.5 million mobile xHaul ports shipped and launching 29 new products that led to record orders and revenue,” said Jay Hilbert, Chief Revenue Officer, DZS. “From global service providers to agile regional operators, the opportunity for DZS in North America is significant. We begin 2022 with a strong foundation that we believe will enable us to continue disrupting the status quo and capturing market share. With two decades of experience in broadband access, numerous customer relationships, a shared commitment to excellence and a customer-first culture that exceeds expectations, Andrew is poised to help accelerate DZS growth in North America over the coming years.”

Most recently, Finkelstein served as Vice President of Sales, Telco & Webscale at Casa Systems for four years, leading sales in North America. Prior to Casa Systems, he spent 14 years at Calix where he was responsible for many of the large-scale regional service providers such as Lumen (CenturyLink).

“Charlie Vogt’s transformation of DZS since joining the company, his bold vision and the global recruitment across all levels of the company have been simply impressive,” said Finkelstein. “As we look ahead, my goal is to partner with service providers in North America to help them realize their optical broadband, 5G modernization and digital transformation ambitions, and I am thrilled to be working with Charlie, Jay and the DZS team to do so. We are experiencing a once-in-a-generation super cycle, fueled by remote workers, unparalleled consumer demand, government stimulus programs and next generation access technologies. DZS has an enviable broadband and optical edge portfolio, an impressive list of global and regional service providers, and the playbook required to capitalize on the shifts taking place across our industry.”

Driven by a customer-first culture that prioritizes innovation, including the introduction of three new software platforms in 2021, DZS is a trusted access networking and technology partner to 16 of the world’s top 30 telecommunications service providers and to hundreds of regional service providers. On Thursday, May 12, 2022, DZS will host its 2nd annual Horizons22 Investor and Analyst Day at the company’s headquarters in Dallas, Texas.