Leadership

James H. Salter, P.E. Chairman/Chief Strategy Officer

Mr. Salter founded Atlantic in January 1996. Prior , he served for 7 years as the GM of a municipal utility that owned and operated a broadband telecommunications system. In addition to providing electricity, natural gas, water, and wastewater services, the Monroe Utilities Network has over 30 years experience in broadband communications. In the field of telecommunications, Mr. Salter has served in the role of operator, consultant, designer, and contractor. He has served as a past President of the Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) Council. He has 25 years’ experience in utility engineering, having worked with member-owned, investor-owned, and municipal systems. Mr. Salter earned his degree in Electrical Engineering from Georgia Tech and is a registered Professional Engineer in multiple states. Prior to founding Atlantic he held the positions of System Planning Engineer for Walton EMC, Transmission/Generation Operations Engineer for American Electric Power, and General Manager for Monroe Utilities Network. Mr. Salter is currently responsible for business development strategy and resources.

John Toccalino, PE Chief Executive Officer/President

Mr. Toccalino joined Atlantic in 2006. His 30 year career has it’s foundation in project management developed in the power industry and expanded through entrepreneurial efforts in the telecom industry. Immediately prior to joining Atlantic, Mr. Toccalino founded DesignLiNK to serve municipal clients interested in advanced broadband networks. DesignLiNK specialized in network planning, detailed design, feasibility analysis and operations/business creation.

His career started with Black & Veatch (B&V). At B&V, he managed multiple power projects in excess of $100 million nationally and internationally. The last 7 years with B&V, he developed their non-wireless telecommunications business that comprised of telecommunications infrastructure evaluation and engineering services. Mr. Toccalino is also a licensed Professional Engineer in many states.

James A. Pittman Chief Operating Officer

Mr. Pittman has over 25 years of experience in the telecom business. He is well known throughout the industry and joined Atlantic from Charter Communications. He has served in myriad positions including service manager, plant manager, and operations manager for systems serving over 100,000 customers. Mr. Pittman is in charge of all day to day operations on all Atlantic projects. He is responsible for creating a safe work space for all Atlantic workers.

Jerry Sharp Chief Technology Officer

Mr. Jerry Sharp comes to Atlantic with over twenty years of telecommunications experience. He has designed and deployed telephony solutions including the 1st stand alone softswitch on PSTN with full SS-7 signaling support and RUS certified VoIP solutions. He has developed strategy and architectures for convergent telephony networks and rural broadband fiber networks.

Eddie Church Vice President of Underground Construction

Mr. Church joined Atlantic from a career spanning 32 years in telecommunications. He has served as the Fiber Division manager for a large company overseeing all aspects of a 2,300 mile plant. He spent 11 years as the underground construction manager and project manager for the southeast. He holds competencies in several areas including OSHA certifications. Eddie oversees all Atlantic underground construction activities.

Spencer Hawsey Vice President of Aerial Construction

Spencer joined Atlantic in 1998. Spencer served as the Project manager for Atlantic’s very first FTTH build and has been an integral part of each Atlantic FTTH project since. Spencer is responsible for all Aerial Construction resources, including in-house crews and subcontractor relationships. Additionally, Spencer has ultimate responsibility for quality control, safety practices, and construction techniques used in all aerial fiber builds.

Chris L. Smith Director of Business Development

Mr. Smith’s diverse background in the telecommunications industry provides our clients with a knowledgeable source for understanding of how Atlantic can assist them with their network construction. Chris’ experience range includes fiber to the home networks as well as wireless installations. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Telecommunications Management and is a Cisco Certified Network Associate (CCNA).

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