WaveSmith Networks names CEO

Former Unisphere COO takes the helm.

ACTON, MASS. - WaveSmith Networks last week named former Unisphere Networks COO Thomas Burkardt as its chairman and CEO. Burkardt replaces company founder Robert Dalias, who will assume the role of CTO, a position he's juggled in addition to his role as CEO.

Burkardt left Unisphere 15 months ago and has been investing in companies and sitting on boards - including WaveSmith's. Burkardt and Dalias also worked together at Castle Networks, a packet telephony start-up that Burkardt co-founded and was acquired by Siemens as one of three small companies combined to form Unisphere.

"We've got to set the stage for this company to change and grow as we get into revenue," Dalias says. "We couldn't be better positioned at this point."

"This is what I enjoy doing," Burkardt says. "I enjoy building a business and a company. We're at that point now where it really makes my juices flow. We're building a business for the long haul and that's what keeps me excited, that's what I enjoy."

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ACTON, MASS. - WaveSmith Networks last week named former Unisphere Networks COO Thomas Burkardt as its chairman and CEO. Burkardt replaces company founder Robert Dalias, who will assume the role of CTO, a position he's juggled in addition to his role as CEO.

Burkardt left Unisphere 15 months ago and has been investing in companies and sitting on boards - including WaveSmith's. Burkardt and Dalias also worked together at Castle Networks, a packet telephony start-up that Burkardt co-founded and was acquired by Siemens as one of three small companies combined to form Unisphere.

"We've got to set the stage for this company to change and grow as we get into revenue," Dalias says. "We couldn't be better positioned at this point."

"This is what I enjoy doing," Burkardt says. "I enjoy building a business and a company. We're at that point now where it really makes my juices flow. We're building a business for the long haul and that's what keeps me excited, that's what I enjoy."

WaveSmith recently landed $30 million in funding, including $5 million from Ciena, which will sell, service and support the start-up's multiservice edge switches. WaveSmith reportedly is gaining momentum in its carrier trials.

Sources say WaveSmith is close to receiving a contract from SBC Communications for a multiservice edge buildout valued in the tens of millions of dollars. The company is a finalist for a major next-generation frame relay buildout by Verizon.

Three years ago, during the heyday of the Internet boom, a start-up such as WaveSmith would have been acquired, Burkardt says. Now the company faces a "critical juncture" in developing a business plan to generate revenue on its own, he says.

"We've got some traction, we've got some funding, that's great," Burkardt says. "Now we have to prove that we can build an operating plan, stick to it, grow the revenue and become a solid business."

As for Dalias, WaveSmith officials said management has been spread too thin and that he would rather plot product strategy than run day-to-day operations.

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