Tom Napoli, Vice President

Tom Napoli has worked in the telecom industry for more than 25 years.  His first job out of college was in long-distance sales at MCI “Before MCI was anything,” he recalled.  He then worked in various customer service management positions, culminating with the standing up and oversight of a huge call center in Winchester, Kentucky.

“We turned a former Sam’s Club into a call center with 900 employees.  We had Compact, HP, Microsoft, Trammel Crowe and Ryder Trucks as clients.  That experience was great because we would execute on their curriculum but we would also help them develop an improved curriculum,” Napoli recalled.

Napoli has a penchant for new technology.

“I’ve always been drawn to new and better ways of doing things.  I was part of MCI when it was tiny, unproven carrier that challenged the 800-lb gorilla [AT&T] with a new way of furnishing long-distance service and won,” said Napoli.  “There was a lot of skepticism at first, but we beat them with innovation, offered much lower prices and eventually dominated the market.”

Napoli sees a lot of parallels to the present-day evolution of fiber-based LANs.

“Fast-forward to today and I’m with a new company that is trying to revolutionize an industry with a proven technology that hasn’t been fully adopted.  I am energized by Mike Watts and Eric Welty and their ability to design a fiber optic network for any venue – campus, complex, or even a whole metro area,” said Napoli.  “I’m selling the A Team.  Who wouldn’t want to do that?”

Napoli is also proud that fiber optics provide sustainable alternatives to conventional LANs.  “I have some personal convictions about environmental stewardship.  Our networks require fewer raw materials, less space and less energy.  This is a rare instance when better service is better for the Earth, too.  It’s a case of doing far more with far less.”

“I think I do a good job of listening and identifying problem areas,” said Napoli. “I love to design a solution that addresses the customer’s pain points.  I like brokering relationships and partnerships that are meaningful and provide significant change.”

In the future, Napoli anticipates that hospitals, college campuses, stadiums, arenas and other places where people gather in large numbers will need a lot more bandwidth than they have today.  “Take stadiums and arenas.  They are desperate to give people a reason to get off their couches and leave their 70” high-def TVs behind.  If the live experience is going to compete, it’s going to have to include enhanced technology backed by massive bandwidth.  The football stadium of the future will be challenged to offer a better user experience than people have at home.  And Noovis is positioning itself as the company to partner with to lead the way for that enhanced broadband experience.”