Technology >> CEO Interviews >> March 10, 2005

David Heard – Somera Communications Inc (smra)

DAVID W. HEARD is President and Chief Executive Officer of Somera Communications, Inc. He joined Somera in May 2004 with more than 15 years' experience in telecommunications and with Fortune 500 companies. His extensive global background and strong relationships with operators and manufacturers will help establish Somera's leadership position as a leading provider of lifecycle management services to support legacy networks at the lowest cost and greatest return. Before joining Somera, Mr. Heard served as the President and General Manager, NetworkSwitching Division of Tekelec, Inc. Prior to Tekelec, Mr. Heard served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Santera, a telecommunications infrastructure company that was acquired by Tekelec in 2003. At Santera, Mr. Heard successfully raised more than $240 million in private capital, led the company through a strategic merger and integration with Tekelec and significantly grew annual revenues at Santera. Prior to Santera, Mr. Heard served as a Vice President of the Access Division at Lucent Technologies, Inc., and held positions at AT&T Corporation and Chrysler Motors. Mr. Heard received a BA degree in Production and Operations Management from Ohio State University, an MBA from the University of Dayton and an MS degree in Management from Stanford University on a Sloan Fellowship. Profile
TWST: May we start with a quick overview of Somera and where you see the

company today?

Mr. Heard: Somera has focused it's business strategy on what we have

termed Lifecycle Management