It is with great pleasure that the Board of Directors of the SouthWestern Integrated Fibre Technology (SWIFT) Initiative announces the appointment of Mr. Geoff Hogan as SWIFT's inaugural Chief Executive Officer. Reporting to the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer is the key management leader of SWIFT and responsible for overseeing a multifaceted team dedicated to the implementation and delivery of the SWIFT Network, including administration, project management, financial oversight, marketing, and stakeholder outreach.

Mr. Hogan brings a history of entrepreneurial and management experience to the role, with extensive leadership experience in both the public and private sectors. As Grey County's Director of Information Technology for over 12 years, and in support of the Western Ontario Wardens Caucus, Mr. Hogan has been involved in the SWIFT project since its inception. For the past year, he has been serving as the Interim Executive Director of SWIFT and leading preparations for SWIFT's first phase of fibre infrastructure investments.

"The Board is very excited and extremely confident as we head into our implementation phase," said SWIFT Chair Gerry Marshall. "Geoff's knowledge and passion, and his involvement in SWIFT from it's earliest days through the project's development and now implementation has demonstrated that his commitment to SWIFT's vision of "broadband for everyone" is unmatched."

"I am thrilled to receive the Board's continued confidence and support through this opportunity to serve as SWIFT's inaugural CEO," said Mr. Hogan. "I truly believe in the critical importance of our shared vision of connecting everyone in our region to ultra-high speed broadband infrastructure in order to support thriving, prosperous futures for everyone that calls our region home. I look forward to continuing to support our Board and communities across the region through our work at SWIFT as we build broadband for everyone."

The SWIFT Initiative is based on the principle that everyone deserves access to high-speed Internet, regardless of the size of their community, their age, education, or where they work. SWIFT will build an affordable, open-access, ultra-high-speed fibre-optic regional broadband network for everyone in Southwestern Ontario, Caledon and Niagara Region. In addition to leadership from the county members of the Western Ontario Warden's Caucus and investment from the federal and provincial governments, the Region of Niagara, Town of Caledon, City of Orillia, and the Region of Waterloo are also supporting the project. Non-municipal members include Grey Bruce Health Services, Georgian College, Connecting Windsor-Essex (CW-E) and the Stratford Economic Enterprise Development Corporation. Letters of support for the project have been received from the Chippewas of Kettle and Stony Point First Nation, the Chippewas of the Thames First Nation and Walpole Island First Nation.

SWIFT launched the first stage in its procurement process on May 12, 2017 by releasing a two-stage Request for Pre-Qualification Process and pre-qualified 28 service providers through this process. For more information about the procurement process and to stay up to date on how SWIFT will build broadband for everyone in Southwestern Ontario, Caledon, and Niagara Region, please visit www.swiftnetwork.ca and sign-up for the SWIFT mailing list at www.swiftnetwork.ca/contact

SWIFT is currently requesting information from users across the region about their current Internet service. To complete the survey, please visit www.swiftnetwork.ca/survey

source: media release, SWIFT