Colt Technology Services has announced the appointment of Keri Gilder as its new chief executive officer, replacing the outgoing Carl Grivner, who steps down from the role after five years.
Under Grivner’s leadership, the telecommunications firm saw a period of strong growth and transformation, with heavy investment in Colt’s IQ Network and a focus on facilitating modern high bandwidth connectivity requirements.
Over the last few years, Colt has also expanded its IQ Network further across Europe and APAC, as well as launching in the US back in 2018. There’s also been investment in next-generation technologies and a focus on ensuring integration with Cloud Service Providers (CSP), the firm said.
“Colt has always been determined to be ahead of the curve,” Grivner said on his time at the business. “It’s why we invested in high bandwidth connectivity, blockchain and APIs, even before we saw customer demand for these innovative solutions.
“It has been a privilege to lead an organisation during such a transformation, and it’s been an honour to have the backing of the Board, my team and the wider organisation as we pushed ahead with doing some things that haven’t been done before.”
He added: “I am proud to be a Coltie, and I can’t wait to see where Keri takes the business – it’s in incredibly capable hands.”
Gilder steps up to the role of CEO having joined Colt from Ciena Communications back in 2018. Before becoming chief executive, she held the position of chief commercial officer (CCO), leading global teams across sales, presales and marketing. At Ciena Communications, she held several leadership roles but was most recently its vice president and general manager of EMEA.
“I am honoured to be taking over the leadership of Colt from Carl. Ever since joining the business, I have been inspired by the passion of my colleagues,” commented Gilder. “From our drive to remain vigilantly focused on delivering the very best for our customers, to our use of innovative and new technologies to advance the industry.
“This passion has always come from the top; however, you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who hasn’t been inspired by Carl and his love for this industry and Colt. Colt is in a great position to thrive during this time of significant transformation, through our steadfast focus on our customers, partners, and our drive to create an inclusive environment within Colt and across the industry. I couldn’t be more excited to lead this organisation.”
Gilder takes the role with immediate effect, while Grivner will remain at the company until June, Colt confirmed.
