Press Launch
Sowmyanarayan Sampath appointed CEO to drive the corporate’s subsequent section of AI-related and enterprise development; Steve Smith to stay on Board following retirement
Zayo (“the Firm”), the main digital infrastructure community supplier, immediately introduced a deliberate CEO transition, appointing former Verizon govt Sowmyanarayan Sampath as Chief Government 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 developed from an acquisition-built community operator into the biggest impartial digital infrastructure community supplier and a powerhouse of connectivity serving AI firms and enterprises throughout the U.S. Sampath’s appointment supplies long-term management and bolsters Zayo’s market-leading place.
Sampath brings greater than 20 years of large-scale digital infrastructure expertise, most lately serving as CEO of Verizon Shopper, after beforehand main Verizon Enterprise and BCG’s world telecom follow for carriers the world over. His in depth background in main multi-billion-dollar enterprise and wholesale companies via transformation and speedy know-how shifts positions him to speed up Zayo’s business 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 position 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 section of development. This deliberate transition displays the energy of our enterprise, the depth of our management crew, and the Board’s confidence within the path forward. Sampath’s monitor document of scaling advanced networks and driving enterprise income makes him the fitting chief to maximise the potential from Zayo’s market-leading property.”
“I’ve large respect for what Steve and the whole Zayo crew 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 advanced connectivity wants, the community is the final word constraint, and Zayo is constructed to unravel this. We already join extra information facilities within the U.S. than anybody else, and that’s more and more essential as AI firms and huge enterprises search for the dimensions, attain, and efficiency AI-driven infrastructure requires. I sit up for working with this crew as we construct on Zayo’s momentum, strengthen assist for our clients and launch the following period of digital infrastructure development.”
Below Smith’s management, Zayo strengthened its place because the community companion of selection for purchasers with advanced, high-capacity connectivity wants. He superior deeper integration, automation, inside AI adoption, community service excellence, and disciplined capital allocation whereas accelerating Zayo’s community growth. Throughout his tenure, the Firm greater than tripled its deliberate fiber growth, 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 areas. In his position 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 pleased with what our crew has constructed as we put together the Firm for the following technology of digital infrastructure,” stated Smith. “I’ve all the time inspired my groups to play to be remembered, and this crew has completed 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 fitting chief for Zayo’s subsequent chapter, and I sit up for supporting him and the whole group as a member of the Board.”
