Clearfield Expands National Account Focus and Strengthens Broadband Sales Team With Key New Hires

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 12, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD), the specialist in fiber management and connectivity platforms for communications providers, expands its corporate management team with the appointment of Mickey Smith as director of broadband sales and Brian Shane as national sales director for the Verizon account.

Clearfield’s current expansion is designed to meet the increasing demand for fiber management solutions, as demonstrated by the 21% growth in fiscal 2015 of its Tier 2 and 3 ILEC business.

Smith has extensive sales management experience with equipment providers in the telco and multiple-system operator (MSO) space, and will bring his expertise and oversight to Clearfield’s broadband sales operations in North America, Canada and Central/Latin America.

“We are pleased to welcome Mickey to our team,” said Cheri Beranek, president and CEO of Clearfield. “‘Feet on the street’ is how we get to know our customers best, and having Mickey onboard will only further enhance our ability to meet the needs of our customers.”

Smith added: “Fiber and ‘virtual fiber’ topologies are accelerating at an ever increasing rate to bring fiber not only to the home, but to a large number of industries needing to expand their communications infrastructure. I’m eager to build on our success of delivering Clearfield’s nimble product innovations, as well as, their labor and cost-saving platforms to the wider broadband community.”

Shane comes to Clearfield with a rich background of strategic account management and national sales team leadership experience.  

“For the past 15 years, I’ve had the pleasure of working closely with some extremely talented people in Verizon, solving difficult problems and developing unique solutions,” commented Shane. “Verizon has revolutionized the telecommunications industry through rapid innovation and quality service. Those are some of the same principles that drive Clearfield’s success. Bringing Clearfield’s ability to accomplish fast-paced development to the innovative people at Verizon is truly exciting.”

Beranek added: “As Clearfield actively enters the Tier 1 service provider market, we are thrilled to have an industry veteran lead our efforts. We look forward to reaping the benefits of the expertise and experience Brian now brings to Clearfield.”

About Clearfield

Clearfield, Inc. (NASDAQ:CLFD) designs, manufactures and distributes fiber optic management products for the communications networks of leading ILECS, CLECs, MSO/cable TV companies and mobile broadband providers. We help service providers solve the Fiber Puzzle, which is how to reduce high costs associated with deploying, managing, protecting and scaling a fiber optic network to deliver the mobile, residential and business services customers want. Based on the patented Clearview™ Cassette, our unique single-architected, modular fiber management platform is designed to lower the cost of broadband deployment and maintenance by consolidating, protecting and distributing incoming and outgoing fiber circuits and enable our customers to scale their operations as their subscriber revenues increase. Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, Clearfield deploys millions of fiber ports each year throughout North America. Connect with Clearfield at www.SeeClearfield.com, on LinkedIn or on Twitter @danceswith fiber.

Investor Contact: 

Matt Glover and Najim Mostamand 
Liolios Group, Inc. 
949-574-3860 
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