Bringing deep M&A and infrastructure expertise, Heckler will lead Crown Castle integration and accelerate Zayo’s next phase of strategic expansion

Zayo, a leading global communications infrastructure provider, today announced Alan Heckler has been named Chief Innovation & Integration Officer. With more than 25 years of combined industry and consulting experience, Heckler brings a deep background in digital infrastructure, industrial transformation, and M&A strategy. In this role, Heckler will lead integration efforts, including Zayo’s recent acquisition of Crown Castle’s fiber solutions business, in addition to transformation initiatives focused on accelerating long-term growth for Zayo’s business.

“Our recent acquisition of Crown Castle demonstrates Zayo’s commitment to delivering the critical infrastructure our customers need to usher in the next generation of technology. Alan brings the right expertise to lead the integration of this acquisition while accelerating the broader transformation of our business. His leadership will help us scale more effectively, deliver even greater value to our customers, and strengthen our position at the center of the digital infrastructure ecosystem,” said Steve Smith, CEO of Zayo.

Since its founding in 2007, Zayo has built the largest independent network in North America through a combination of strategic acquisitions and organic growth. Over the past five years alone, it has invested more than $20 billion in infrastructure growth and added nearly three million fiber miles to meet surging demand from AI, cloud, and next-generation technologies. With continued expansion underway— including its Crown Castle acquisition and major long-haul investments to support AI— Heckler will focus on aligning strategy, operations, and technology to accelerate growth and innovation.

“Very few infrastructure providers are actively investing in expanding their networks the way Zayo is,” said Heckler. “With the acquisition of Crown Castle’s fiber assets, we have a powerful opportunity to accelerate our growth with purpose and strengthen our network where our customers need it most. My focus will be on ensuring we can integrate these assets with speed and clarity, align our operations and capabilities for long-term growth, and continue to deliver the scale our customers need to lead in the next wave of technology. I’m honored to join Zayo at such a critical and exciting time in its growth.”

Before joining Zayo, Heckler was a Senior Partner at Kearney, where he led the Americas Industrial Product Practice and served on the Americas Leadership Team. Under his leadership, the practice doubled in size while becoming one of the firm’s largest and most profitable business units. His work has spanned industries including communications, media, technology, aerospace, defense, and infrastructure, specializing in large-scale transformation and value creation initiatives.

For more information, please visit www.zayo.com.

About Zayo

For more than 17 years, Zayo has empowered some of the world’s largest and most innovative companies to connect what’s next for their business. The Zayo group of companies connects 400 global markets with future-ready networks that span over 19 million fiber miles and 147,000 route miles. Zayo's tailored connectivity solutions and managed services enable carriers, cloud providers, data centers, schools, and enterprises to deliver exceptional experiences, from core to cloud to edge. Discover how Zayo connects what’s next at www.zayo.com and follow us on LinkedIn.

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