FirstNet Looking for New CEO, Urged to Promote From Within
FirstNet must now name a new CEO to replace Mike Poth, who leaves the agency at the end of the month. Poth held the position for just over three years. Industry officials said stability is critical as the new network starts to build steam, but finding a new CEO could be a challenge.
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Poth replaced Bill D'Agostino, FirstNet’s first general manager, who left the network after only a year (see 1406040031). The selection of Poth, in August 2015, took more than a year (see 1508170033).
FirstNet should promote from within, said public safety consultant Andrew Seybold. “Bringing in an outsider is not what the organization needs at the moment,” Seybold blogged Thursday. “There are many important issues that remain the purview of the Authority including overseeing FirstNet (Built by AT&T). These issues need to be addressed on an ongoing basis and having a CEO from within the ranks who has been working on many of these issues would be the best move the Department of Commerce and NTIA could make.”
“Having a leader that has both the government management chops plus the trust of public safety is very important,” said a lawyer with public safety clients. “That person must know how to navigate the government bureaucracy, while managing up to his or her board. While there are many great candidates out there, they also must be willing to accept a government salary and significant oversight from many parties.”
“The turnover isn't surprising given the challenge with managing the parochial, and competing, interests of the thousands of public safety entities,” said a former FCC spectrum official. “This is why the position is hard to fill and hard to keep filled.” FirstNet didn’t comment.
FirstNet said Thursday staff will be hitting the road for three police events in Orlando starting next week -- meetings of the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Major Cities Chiefs Association and a Police Executive Research Forum town hall.