Ex-Nortel exec from RTP named to Genband executive team

A former Nortel Networks executive in Research Triangle Park will help lead the executive management team of Genband, the Texas company that bought out a major Nortel unit last week and now employs more than 500 former Nortel workers here.

Jeff Townley is one of eight executives, and the only one in RTP, Genband announced this afternoon in the wake of Friday's $282 million acquisition of Nortel's Carrier VoIP and Applications Solutions business.

A 26-year veteran of Nortel, Townley has been named Genband's President of Operations, responsible for Professional Services, Support, Manufacturing and Supply Chain.

Genband bid on Nortel's CVAS unit last december as part of Nortel's bankruptcy process. As part of the acquisition, Genband took over 2,500 Nortel workers worldwide and swelled its workforce from about 500 to about 3,000 employees.

Genband specializes in Internet Protocol equipment that's used to transmit phone calls, e-mails and other data. Nortel's CVAS unit specialized in voice over Internet protocol technology.

Genband said that with the acquisition it has vast resources in research and development, sales and support, spanning 46 countries. The company's customers include Verizon and AT&T, two of this country's biggest telecommunications providers. Other U.S. customers include CenturyLink, Comcast, Sprint, Windstream and Qwest. 

Genband was founded in 1999 as General Bandwidth and renamed Genband in 2004 in a management shakeup. In 2007, Genband acquired the Internet Protocol Switching business from Morrisville-based Tekelec.