NXTcomm nabs NAB/CES exec

True to their word, the partnering companies sponsoring NXTcomm, the telecom industry’s largest trade show, have hired a trade show veteran to take charge of their new event, landing Wayne Crawford, who previously was part of two other very large shows, the National Association of Broadcasters event and the Consumer Electronics Show.

Crawford led exhibit sales efforts and new business development for NAB, a job that included “initiatives for next-generation content delivery technologies,” according to NXTcomm. At CES, he worked with internal sales, marketing, public relations, operations, registration and finance divisions.

“Wayne's experience building some of the country's largest events will be a tremendous asset in his new role leading NXTcomm,” said Skip Frantz, chairman of Windstream Corporation and chairman of USTelecom's Board of Directors, in a prepared statement

NXTcomm will be held June 18-21 in Chicago and is co-sponsored by USTelecom and the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA). It is a new show, created a year after USTelecom and TIA broke up their Supercomm partnership to sponsor separate shows.

As part of their new partnership, the two trade organizations created a separate entity to run NXTcomm and promised to hire a trade show veteran.

“Selecting Wayne Crawford to lead our NXTcomm launch underscores the commitment of TIA and USTelecom to create the premier event for the information, communications and entertainment technology industry,” noted Rob Pullen, Tellabs senior vice president, Global Services, and chairman of TIA's Board of Directors, in a prepared statement.

In separate TIA news, new President Grant Seiffert, who took over for the retiring Matt Flanigan on Jan. 2, also announced new staff members this week, including James Maday as manager of government affairs; Terry Lane as communications manager and Michael Nunes as new director of international and government affairs.