FirstLight Fiber

Brian Kurkowski has been with FirstLight Fiber and its predecessor companies since its inception in 1997. During this time he has held the senior technologist position as Chief Technology Officer and now the Principal Member of Technical Staff. He is responsible for strategic technology direction, network architecture, and large customer initiatives. Prior to FirstLight Mr. Kurkowski served in the United States Navy for 11 years as a submarine Reactor  Operator. Concurrent with these roles he has owned and operated various enterprises engaged in utility construction, software development and real estate management.

Mr. Kurkowski earned a B.S in Engineering from the University of Florida and a B.S. in Human Resource Management from the New School for Social Research.

Bruce Skellie is the Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer for FirstLight. He started with FirstLight in October 2012 as Controller. Prior to FirstLight, Mr. Skellie was the Controller at Fiber Glass Industries from 2009 through 2012. Mr. Skellie began his professional career in Public accounting for about 7 years in roles of increasing responsibility with the most extensive time spent at Bollam, Sheedy, Torani & Co. CPA’s in Albany NY which is now SaxBST.

Mr. Skellie earned a B.S. in Accounting from Le Moyne College in Syracuse NY.

Jeremy Hotchkiss joined FirstLight in September 2017 and holds the position of Chief Services Officer. In this role, he is responsible for all support and implementation services provided by the company for its enterprise and business customers. Leading a management team whom is responsible for customer implementation, services, repair, and billing. Prior to joining FirstLight, Mr. Hotchkiss was Chief Operating Officer for Finger Lakes Technologies Group, Inc. since 2013. Mr. Hotchkiss has held other positions of increasing responsibility while at Finger Lakes Technologies Group beginning in 2006 as Controller, Vice President of Operations, Sr. Vice President of Operations. As a twenty year veteran of telecommunications, Jeremy brings a disciplined, detailed, and measured leadership approach for our rapidly growing company. He is responsible for operational excellence often measured by our customers experience from project implementation through our day to day service and support.

Prior to joining Finger Lakes Technologies Group, Jeremy was employed by Frontier Corporation (a Citizens Communications Company) for 10 years in a variety of financial and accounting positions including Sr. Financial Analyst, Manager of Revenue Reporting, & Manager of Regulatory Reporting and Compliance.

Jeremy earned an M.B.A. from St. John Fisher College in Rochester, New York and holds a B.S. in Accounting from St. John Fisher College.

Kurt Van Wagenen has been the President and CEO of FirstLight Fiber since October 2013 and serves on the Board of Directors. Prior to FirstLight, Mr. Van Wagenen was President and CEO of FiberTower Corporation from 2008 until 2012. From 2001 to 2007, he held executive positions at NEON Communications, including President and CEO from January of 2007 until NEON was acquired by RCN Corporation. He also served as President and COO of Globix Corporation. Mr. Van Wagenen began his career at Verizon Communications and its various predecessors, holding positions of increasing responsibility.

Mr. Van Wagenen earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. Mr. Van Wagenen serves on Boards of Directors as follows: INCOMPAS as Board Chair, A Better Chance as National Board Chair, and Pathways to College.  He is also a member of the School of Engineering Leadership Council for Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

In February, 2013, Mr. Coughlin joined FirstLight as Chief Revenue Officer, where is he is responsible for leading all aspects of Sales & Marketing on behalf of the Company and for executing the Company’s growth plans. Previously, he served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Fibertower. From 2005-2009, he served as Vice President of Sales at RCN Metro (formerly NEON Communications and Globix Corporation), where he was responsible for sales and marketing for the entire U.S. and oversaw a sales team comprised of 55 people. Prior to that position, he served as Senior Director of Sales at NEON from October 2001 until December 2005. Mr. Coughlin also served as a Senior Account Executive with NEON and other telecommunications companies, including AT&T and USTelecenters, during which time he was recognized for being a leading sales contributor for major accounts.

Mr. Coughlin holds a Bachelor’s of Arts degree from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.

Sean Socha rejoined FirstLight in September 2017 and holds the position of Chief Financial Officer. In this role, he is responsible for all aspects of financial  as well as corporate development and  of the Advanced Technologies Group unit.   Prior to FirstLight, Mr. Socha was CFO for Finger Lakes Technologies Group, Inc. from 2013 until 2017. From 2011 until 2013 Mr. Socha was CFO for FirstLight. He also served as CFO for two other companies and has had global financial responsibilities for several companies in the public sector. Mr. Socha began his career at KPMG Peat Marwick in 1991.

Mr. Socha earned a BS in Accounting from Saint John Fisher College and is a Certified Public Accountant.

Jill Sandford joined FirstLight Fiber in June of 2015 and currently serves as its General Counsel. Ms. Sandford manages all aspects of legal, regulatory, compliance, and human resources. Ms. Sandford has twenty years’ experience in the telecommunications sector. From 1995-2001, Ms. Sandford served as a section chief in the New York State Attorney General’s Office Bureau of Telecommunications and Energy. From 2001-2014, Ms. Sandford held legal roles at Metromedia Fiber Network, AboveNet and Zayo each with increasing and broad responsibilities.

Ms. Sandford holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Cornell University and a Juris doctor from Albany Law School. Ms. Sandford also serves on the Board of the Westchester Women’s Bar Association Foundation.

Paul Griswold joined FirstLight Fiber in September 2017 and acts as a Senior Advisor to the Company. Prior to FirstLight, Mr. Griswold was President and CEO of Finger Lakes Technologies Group, Inc. (FLTG) since its inception in 1995. Mr. Griswold formed FLTG in order to offer deregulated telecommunications services and FLTG was a subsidiary of Ontario and Trumansburg Telephone Companies. Mr. Griswold has served as President and CEO of the telephone companies since 2005 and continues to own and operate the telephone companies which have been operated by the Griswold family for over 97 years and 5 generations.

Mr. Griswold attended Rochester Institute of Technology and Kansas School of Telecommunications. Mr. Griswold is also very active in industry associations and community and business organizations. Mr. Griswold is currently on the Board of Directors for Champlain Telephone Company and Ontario and Trumansburg Telephone Companies. Mr. Griswold is also currently serving as Chairman of the Board for the New York State Telephone Association. Mr. Griswold is on the Cisco Systems Eastern Regional VAR Council, Cisco Systems National Commercial Advisory Board and Cisco Systems Midmarket Small Business Advisory Board. Mr. Griswold received the Habitat for Humanity Legacy Award in 2015. This award greatly illustrates Mr. Griswold’s commitment to volunteering and giving back to the community. Mr. Griswold continues to be very active in various community organizations.