Navigating the Energy Transition: Smart Grid and Broadband ConnectivityBessie Williams, North America Chief Procurement Officer, Prysmian will participate in the breakout program, “Navigating the Energy Transition: Smart Grid and Broadband Connectivity” at the 2024 IWCS Cable & Connectivity Industry Forum. View additional details here.
Maura Nespoli is VP of Sales for Renewables and Sustainable Solutions. She has more than 20 years of Global Business experience, matured in different markets and different Countries. It is key to mention McKinsey, Ernst & Young, Voda-fone, combining consultancy and corporate experiences. In 2014, while attending a Global Executive MBA at the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid, she moved abroad in the United States and the United Kingdom as Head of Strategy. This role gave her sales and marketing exposure as well as P&L responsibility. In 2018, she joined Prysmian moving back to Italy and taking on the role of Vice President focused on the Integration of General Cable (USA) that was acquired by Prysmian the same year. In 2021, she moved abroad again, to Cincinnati, Ohio, in the United States, taking on a new position as Vice President of Sales for Renewables market for both USA and Canada. She is also North America Chief Sustainability Officer. Maura is participating in the “The Latest Innovations Affecting Power and Communications Cables” and "Sustainability and Recycling for Wire and Cable" panel discussions at the 2024 IWCS Cable & Connectivity Industry Forum.
Ben Segura currently leads the Outage Task Force at GFiber. GFiber is an Alphabet company that brings Google Fiber and Google Fiber Webpass internet services to homes and businesses across the United States. Ben’s roles at GFiber have spanned multiple engineering and technical program disciplines including lead positions in outside plant, architecture, innovation, and most recently he’s held supporting roles in strategic partnerships and customer operations. Before joining Google Fiber in 2011, Ben spent 10 years as an engineer at Lafayette Utilities System (LUS) where he maintained critical electric power communication systems, designed and built both aerial and underground fiber transport and metro-ethernet network, and built and managed the Voice Video and Data headend for the municipally owned LUS Fiber, a citywide Fiber to the Home network. In early 2018, Ben took a brief hiatus from GFiber to launch a wireless technology start-up, and to advise the Connectivity Fund as an operating partner, and rejoined GFiber 2019. Ben has a degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, is a Professional Engineer, and holds 10+ patents for various optical and fiber deployment related technologies.
Stuart Freiman joined the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) in June 2022 as the fed-eral program officer (FPO) for the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. In this role, Stuart coordinates partnerships and outreach with each state and their local governments, community groups, and other entities with a vested interest on NTIA’s high-speed internet grant programs and policy issues. Stuart works directly with Massachusetts and Rhode Is-land’s broadband offices and the state-level county and municipal associations to ensure comprehensive engagement from all stakeholders in the state on the State’s high-speed internet planning and funding process. Prior to joining the NTIA, Stuart spent 18 years working for the State of Rhode Island, 14 of which managing broadband projects including the NTIA-funded State Broadband Initiative and FirstNet Public Safety Broadband programs. His ex-tensive career also includes 20 years in the high-tech industry in both New England and Silicon Valley. Stuart holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer and Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and a Master of Business Administration degree from New Hampshire College.