Press Launch
Sowmyanarayan Sampath appointed CEO to drive the corporate’s subsequent part of AI-related and enterprise development; Steve Smith to stay on Board following retirement
Zayo (“the Firm”), the main digital infrastructure community supplier, at the moment introduced a deliberate CEO transition, appointing former Verizon government Sowmyanarayan Sampath as Chief Govt Officer (CEO), efficient September 1, 2026. Sampath will succeed Steve Smith, who will retire as CEO following a transformative tenure that established Zayo because the foundational spine of the AI financial system. Smith will proceed to function a member of Zayo’s Board of Administrators.
Below Steve’s management, Zayo has advanced from an acquisition-built community operator into the most important impartial digital infrastructure community supplier and a powerhouse of connectivity serving AI corporations and enterprises throughout the U.S. Sampath’s appointment offers long-term management and bolsters Zayo’s market-leading place.
Sampath brings greater than twenty years of large-scale digital infrastructure expertise, most just lately serving as CEO of Verizon Client, after beforehand main Verizon Enterprise and BCG’s world telecom observe for carriers the world over. His in depth background in main multi-billion-dollar enterprise and wholesale companies by means of transformation and speedy expertise shifts positions him to speed up Zayo’s industrial execution, scale for the calls for of AI-driven development, and meet rising demand for high-capacity connectivity.
“On behalf of the Board, I wish to thank Steve for his management and the essential function he has performed in strengthening Zayo’s market place,” stated Kevin Turner, Chairman of Zayo’s Board of Administrators. “Steve has sharpened Zayo’s technique and positioned the Firm for its subsequent part of development. This deliberate transition displays the energy of our enterprise, the depth of our management staff, and the Board’s confidence within the path forward. Sampath’s monitor file of scaling complicated networks and driving enterprise income makes him the best chief to maximise the potential from Zayo’s market-leading property.”
“I’ve large respect for what Steve and all the Zayo staff have constructed, together with its extraordinary bodily footprint on the exact second the worldwide financial system calls for uncompromised bandwidth,” stated Sampath. “As AI workloads, distributed functions, dense GPU clusters, and hyperscale environments change the place capability is required, and as giant enterprises handle more and more complicated connectivity wants, the community is the last word constraint, and Zayo is constructed to unravel this. We already join extra knowledge facilities within the U.S. than anybody else, and that’s more and more essential as AI corporations and huge enterprises search for the dimensions, attain, and efficiency AI-driven infrastructure requires. I stay up for working with this staff as we construct on Zayo’s momentum, strengthen assist for our prospects and launch the subsequent period of digital infrastructure development.”
Below Smith’s management, Zayo strengthened its place because the community companion of selection for purchasers with complicated, high-capacity connectivity wants. He superior deeper integration, automation, inside AI adoption, community service excellence, and disciplined capital allocation whereas accelerating Zayo’s community enlargement. Throughout his tenure, the Firm greater than tripled its deliberate fiber enlargement, with tasks now spanning greater than 15,000 route miles. He additionally accomplished the acquisition of Crown Citadel’s Fiber Options Enterprise, including roughly 90,000 route miles and 40,000 on-net enterprise places. In his function on the Board, Smith will draw on his a long time of trade experience to proceed advising the Firm.
“Main Zayo has been a privilege, and I’m deeply happy with what our staff has constructed as we put together the Firm for the subsequent era of digital infrastructure,” stated Smith. “I’ve all the time inspired my groups to play to be remembered, and this staff has performed precisely that by constructing a stronger, extra targeted Zayo. Sampath is a confirmed operator with the trade experience, buyer focus and expertise main at scale to construct on that success. I’m assured he’s the best chief for Zayo’s subsequent chapter, and I stay up for supporting him and all the group as a member of the Board.”
