FTTH Council Europe Elects New Leadership and Strengthens Strategic Vision during 2025 Spring General Assembly

Rome, 11 June 2025 – The 2025 Spring General Assembly of the FTTH Council Europe brought together industry leaders and stakeholders from its pan-European membership to set strategic priorities and renew the organisation’s leadership. The General Assembly resulted in the composition of a new Board of Directors, including a new President, and the election of new Committee Chairs. The full list can be found at the end of this release.

The newly elected Board of Directors appointed Francesco Nonno, Director of Regulatory and European Affairs at Open Fiber S.p.A., as new President. The Board also nominated the Treasurer of the association, and introduced two new additional roles in a move to further strengthen the FTTH Council Europe’s capacity to lead and deliver on its mission: the Vice-President Strategy and the Vice-President Membership. These roles will help sharpen the Council’s strategic focus and expand member engagement as the fibre ecosystem continues to evolve.

The new Board of Directors will work to ensure the European Union has an optimal regulatory environment, fostering the digital transformation of all European economies, with a particular focus on the decommission of legacy copper networks in support of the adoption of fibre.

A core pillar of the Council’s success will also lie in the strength of its eight highly active Committees, which continuously generate high-impact initiatives and expertise in support of fibre deployment, adoption, and sustainability. These Committees, which will be led by new Chairs elected in the context of the General Assembly, are instrumental in advancing the industry’s Environmental, Social, and Governance objectives and enabling meaningful collaboration across the sector.

In recognition of outstanding commitment to these collaborative efforts, the event also saw the presentation of the Member Engagement Individual Award, which was awarded to Christof Sommerberg, Head of Public Affairs at Deutsche Glasfaser. Sommerberg was acknowledged for his consistent involvement and impactful support across various activities of the FTTH Council Europe, exemplifying the spirit of active membership and collaborative leadership that defines the organisation.

“The context in which we operate is more complex and challenging than ever, making the FTTH Council Europe even more relevant”, Nonno said in his first remarks. “Our new leadership team mirrors the diversity of our membership and highlights the strategic importance we place on evolving our mission and scope. As an industry association, we are focused on creating value for our diverse membership base and continuing to strengthen our advocacy towards policymakers”.

The FTTH Council Europe looks forward to this new chapter under the guidance of its renewed leadership team and the continued engagement of its members.

New Board of Directors composition:

• Francesco Nonno, Head of Regulatory & European Affairs at Open Fiber S.p.A. - President
• Hans Lötzer, Head of Project Finance at Hamburg Commercial Bank - Treasurer
• Stefano Fogli, Director Technology and Solutions at Adtran – Vice-President Strategy
• Andreas Waber, CEO at Swiss Fibre Net AG – Vice-President Membership
• Suzanne Tracy, CTO at SIRO
• Christian Priess, Head of Europe, Middle East and Africa at Hexatronic Group AB
• Roshene McCool, Global Director, OFC Market & Technology Development at Corning Optical Fibre and Cable
• Carl Pertry, Director of Business Development Fixed Networks at Nokia
• Xavier Renard, Marketing Director at ACOME

Full list of new Committee Chairs:

• Market Intelligence - Domenico Dichiarante, Head of Operational Marketing at Open Fiber S. p. A.
• Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - Barbara Tonarelli, Principal Sales Engineer at ADTRAN
• In-Home Broadband Excellence - Trond Hovind, Director Business Development at Genexis
• Deployment & Operations - Patrick Faraj, Global Product Manager - Centralized Fiber Test Systems at VIAVI Solutions
• Sustainability - Jeroen Kanselaar, Manager Corporate Social Responsability at Eurofiber
• Investors – Steffen Leiwesmeier, Head of Strategic Treasury at Deutsche GigaNetz GmbH
• Policy & Regulation – Arturs Alksnis, Public Affairs Director at FTTH Council Europe
• Open Access - Niall Halpenny, Director of Telecoms at Sonalake

Contact

Michele Nardi
Marketing & Communications Manager
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Tel: +32 471 83 40 55

About the FTTH Council Europe

The FTTH Council Europe is an industry organisation with a mission to advance ubiquitous full fibre-based connectivity to the whole of Europe.

Our vision is that fibre connectivity will transform and enhance the way we live, do business and interact, connecting everyone and everything, everywhere. Fibre is the future-proof, climate-friendly infrastructure which is a crucial prerequisite for safeguarding Europe’s global competitiveness while playing a leading global role in sustainability.

The FTTH Council Europe consists of more than 170 member companies. Learn more at www.ftthcouncil.eu