Michael Simmons, Partner

Mr. Simmons has spent 26 years in the telecommunications industry. He began his career with MCI in 1982 holding sales, marketing and regional sales management positions in various cities during more than 10 years. In 1993 he was the co-founder of Charlotte AxS acquired in 1994 by TW Telecom where he continued as Charlotte President/GM during more than three years building a 400+fiber network in Charlotte, NC. In 1996 he was co-founder of US LEC where he served as EVP of Sales and Marketing and helped raise $650M in an IPO in April 1998. US LEC was sold to PAETEC in 2007. Mr. Simmons is a 1980 graduate of the University of Nebraska.

Curt Mellon, Partner

With over 30 years in telecommunications, Mr. Mellon has played key roles in management. including Branch Director, Director of Global Accounts Development Strategies, and a host of emerging technology, multimedia, and Internet sales and marketing management roles. He was a Marketing Director at Concert (a global venture of BT and AT&T) responsible for channel programs into 47 distributors in the US, EMEA, and the Pacific Rim. He was responsible for market and channel development at US LEC. Recently Mr. Mellon performed joined Raptor Networks as Sr. Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Sales. As a Partner at Bluelake Capital Partners, he is focused on business development.