- Zayo’s new president and COO Chris Brown has a sizable background in energy and private investment
- He’s a good fit given the fiber biz is pretty similar to running an electric utility, said analyst Jack Gold
- One of Brown’s top priorities is to help integrate the Crown Castle fiber assets
There’s a new chief operating officer at Zayo, as the company looks to make better use of old and new fiber assets.
Chris Brown joins Zayo as President and COO with more than three decades of experience across the energy, chemicals, infrastructure and utilities sectors. Most recently, he was founder and CEO of investment firm Brown Equity Group and previously served as CEO of chemical manufacturer Lubrizol as well as chief executive of Berkshire Hathaway Energy Infrastructure Group.
It's perhaps surprising a fiber operator like Zayo hired a COO whose background is predominantly in the energy and utility space. But it makes sense given fiber’s role as a utility in data center connectivity, according to J.Gold Associates Principal Jack Gold.
While it’s a no-brainer that data centers need high speeds and reliability, “what is less obvious is how we’re still working through some of the dark fiber rehabilitation that never fully was utilized when it was installed years ago in the last ‘fiber connectivity gold rush,’” he told Fierce.
Dark fiber has been in the ground for decades, but telcos, data center operators and enterprises alike are now buying up more of it to boost their capacity for high-bandwidth applications like AI.
To that end, it’s important to make sure older pipes are top-notch.
“An operations guy, and one that has energy background and utilities background seems like a good fit as the fiber connectivity business really is similar to the electricity/grid business,” Gold explained. “How you keep the delivery of data in this case (not electricity or gas) running efficiently and where you make investments to serve your customers, is very similar.”
AvidThink Principal Roy Chua similarly thinks Brown’s diverse background and executive roles in energy will be helpful for Zayo as it serves customers connecting and building out data centers – especially given their whole power availability dilemma.
The hire comes months after Zayo acquired Crown Castle’s fiber business for $4.25 billion, a deal that adds about 90,000 route miles connecting major metro areas like New York, Los Angeles and Miami.
Preparing the Crown Castle assets for use will be one of Brown’s top priorities as COO, according to Zayo’s announcement. Gold also noted Brown’s venture capital experience could be valuable if Zayo decides to scoop up any other fiber companies.
“Zayo is in a strong position with tremendous opportunity ahead,” Brown said in a statement. “My focus is on accelerating growth across the business and keeping execution sharp as we integrate Crown Castle’s Fiber Solution Business.”
This story was updated to clarify Brown's official title is President and Chief Operating Officer