Company Names Three Industry Veterans as New Board Members to Help Guide Company Growth
August 31, 2009, PETALUMA, CA—Calix, the largest communications equipment supplier focused solely on access solutions for broadband service delivery, today announced that it has raised $100 million in financing and added three new members to its board of directors. This financing consists of $50 million in equity raised from existing Calix investors and $50 million in debt financing established with Silicon Valley Bank. Calix will use the funds to invest in additional resources necessary to prepare for the company’s continued growth and expansion as well as to capitalize on the growth opportunities afforded by the $7.2 billion U.S Broadband Stimulus program. To assist the company in navigating these opportunities, Calix has added three new directors to its board, Michael Marks of Riverwood Capital, Adam Grosser of Foundation Capital, and Robert Finzi of Sprout Group, whom together bring a wealth of world-class experience across multiple industries and disciplines.
“As we look at the market today, we see extraordinary opportunities for our customers,” said Carl Russo, president and CEO of Calix. “A virtuous cycle is emerging around communications service providers as the thirst for broadband services drives demand. Technological innovation creates the opportunity for new network capacity and efficiency and Broadband Stimulus around the globe enables unprecedented vehicles for changing the economics of broadband deployment. Calix, with our Unified Access solutions portfolio, is ideally suited to facilitate this transformation and assist our customers in becoming an entirely new type of service provider. These new funds and the stellar new additions to our board will ensure that Calix has the financial strength and experience in place to help our customers take full advantage of this opportunity.”
With more than 40 percent of the rural service providers in the United States relying on the Calix Unified Access Infrastructure to deliver advanced broadband services, and market share leadership among rural U.S. service providers for both copper and fiber-based access solutions, Calix is uniquely poised to benefit from the Broadband Stimulus portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Beyond its customers targeting Stimulus awards, Calix continues to see expansion across all of its markets – ILECs, CLECs, municipalities, developers, international carriers and MSOs. Driven by applications leadership in IPTV, GPON mobile backhaul, radio frequency over glass (RFOG), and other advanced broadband applications, the company is well-positioned across key application growth areas in its addressed markets.
“The Calix strategy to date has been about solid execution,” said Adam Grosser, partner at Foundation Capital and new member of the Calix board of directors. “Calix approaches its targeted markets in a disciplined and efficient manner, and has systematically become the clear leader in its addressed market. We see an inflection point in the market that presents unique prospects for the company, and are excited to help Calix capture this growth opportunity.”
New Board Members Bring Strong Industry Experience
Michael Marks brings to the Calix board of directors deep operational, manufacturing, and corporate governance experience. He is currently founding partner of Riverwood Capital, and was a partner and senior advisor at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. (KKR) in 2006 and 2007. Prior to KKR, Michael spent 13 years as CEO of Flextronics International Ltd. and built the company from $93 million to $25 billion. During his tenure, which culminated in serving as the company’s chairman, Michael established operations in over 35 countries and integrated over 100 acquisitions. Electronic Business Magazine has named Michael one of the Top Ten Most Influential Executives in Silicon Valley History and CEO of the Year for the year 2003. He is a director of SanDisk Corporation, Schlumberger Limited, Zappos.com, Inc., the V Foundation for Cancer Research (non-profit), and the National Parks Conservation Association (non-profit). Michael earned an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a BA and MA from Oberlin College.
Adam Grosser brings to the Calix board a long history of experience at leading innovative companies as well as venture capital success. Adam is currently general partner at Foundation Capital. Prior to joining Foundation Capital, Adam was president of Excite@Home’s 1,400-person Subscriber Networks division, as well as co-founder, president, and CEO of Catapult Entertainment. Adam has also worked at Apple Computer, Lucasfilm, and Sony in engineering and management capacities. He currently serves on the boards of Control4, Conviva, EnerNOC (ENOC), GridIron, Naverus, Rohati, SiBEAM and Silver Spring Networks. In addition, he has previously served on the boards of Arroyo (CSCO), Alteon WebSystems (NT), Peribit Networks (JNPR), and Traverse Networks (AV). Adam holds a BA in applied science, as well as a master’s degree in science and an MBA from Stanford University. Adam is also a lecturer at the UCLA School of Film and Television, and contributes to National Public Radio’s Marketplace.
Robert (Bob) Finzi brings a wealth of financial and operation experience to the Calix board. Bob has been co-managing partner of Sprout Group since 2003 and has more than 25 years in venture capital and board experience with a variety of high tech companies. He joined Sprout Group as a general partner in May 1991 from Merrill Lynch Venture Capital, where he had served as partner since 1985. Previously, he was an associate with Menlo Ventures and served as a consultant with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). Bob currently sits on the boards at Aurora Networks, CyOptics, and Trade Beam. He has an MBA from Harvard Business School and BS and MS from Lehigh University.
