Unique Broadband adds seasoned exec to head up global sales, marketing efforts

Unique Broadband Systems Inc (UBS) lured away a high ranking Nortel Networks Corp executive to bolster the company’s global sales and marketing efforts. The addition of John Leon as the company’s first VP sales and marketing is considered a major coup for the emerging broadcast wireless equipment manufacturer, which has been strengthening its management team this year. In March, the Concord ON-based company brought aboard Jeffery Friedman as director of legal services and corporate secretary, and Mohammed Benvidi as VP of engineering (RoW, April 3/00). Last month, company VP and CFO Stephen Rosen told Report on Wireless at the Wireless Communications Association International conference in New Orleans that developing a strong executive team is a key priority for the company over the next 12 months. "We’re at a point where we’re getting large enough that we (had) to bolster our upper management in sales and marketing," he said. Leon’s mandate is to build an effective sales and marketing organization during the next six months by establishing distribution deals outside of the company’s direct sales. The company is currently active in Asia and Russia and is looking to expand upon recent agreements signed in those regions. Prior to joining UBS, Leon spent more than 15 years at Nortel heading up such portfolios as sales, marketing, finance, product/R&D/project management and technical assistance. For the past 10 years, he was part of Nortel’s wireless solutions group in both Toronto and Richardson TX. Most recently, he was VP and GM of the telecommunications giant’s wireless solutions group in Canada. He is credited for contributing to the success of Nortel’s wireless portfolio in Canada. Puzzle starts to take shape Rosen and president/CEO Alex Dolgonos have taken a slow and methodical approach to building the 10-year-old firm. While other companies have preferred a strategy that results in exorbitant market capitalization – based on marketing products that are still in the development phase – UBS has preferred to wait until the product is completed before any marketing is done. In the past, Rosen said he and Dolgonos were responsible for about 95 per cent of sales. With Leon in place, both men can concentrate more on their own strengths within the organization. Rosen said the next priority for the company will be ensuring that all deadlines for product shipments are met, particularly for one major contract that will account for the vast majority of UBS’ revenue next year. UBS has a $65-million contract to deliver 1500 receivers to XM Satellite Radio for a satellite radio system by the end of 2001. Canadian market still significant While the majority of sales are ringing in from south of the border and Asia and Russia, the Canadian market still represents some significant sales opportunities. UBS has been the long-time exclusive equipment supplier to Look Communications Inc for its wireless cable service offering, and recently began to provide the company with cable headend equipment for Look’s two-way high-speed wireless Internet access service. Earlier this month, UBS also signed a multi-year $3.9-million contract with Bell Canada to provide broadband wireless equipment to deliver high-speed wireless Internet access to some of its corporate customers. A previous contract provided Bell with bi-directional wireless transport equipment that linked various point-to-multipoint radio sites. The company’s growth strategy appears to be paying off. Sales for fiscal 1999 hit nearly $9.3 million, an increase of 282 per cent of the previous year. Of that amount, it spent around $2.2 million on R&D. In 1998, UBS had revenue of nearly $3.5 million and spent nearly 75 per cent of it on research. Rosen said R&D will continue to be a priority, as will production. With the company now firmly established in its new 8,000 square metre manufacturing facility, executives say the firm has the capacity to generate annual revenue in the $100-million range.

Unique Broadband adds seasoned exec to head up global sales, marketing efforts

News | 08/21/2000 4:00 am EDT

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