FirstNet Authority selects CEO, awaits ‘paperwork’ to make formal announcement

A new CEO for the FirstNet Authority has been selected and could start the job next month, but the identity of the individual will not be shared until all federal-government “paperwork” processes are completed, FirstNet Authority board Chairman Stephen Benjamin said today.

Benjamin made the announcement during the FirstNet Authority board’s regular quarterly meeting, which was conducted in Austin. The FirstNet Authority has not had a permanent CEO since Ed Parkinson left the position last spring prior to being hired by RapidSOS.

“We’ve had a long and strong [CEO selection] process,” Benjamin said during the meeting, which was webcast. “A candidate has been identified and selected. An offer has been accepted and currently the candidate is going through administrative and security paperwork. We anticipate the individual starting by the end of the first quarter.

“We’re excited about the energy this person will bring to the table and are looking forward to a wonderful and orderly transition as we step into this next phase of technological innovation that will hopefully allow us to do a great job even that much better.”

Benjamin also thanked FirstNet Authority staff members for their efforts—particularly Acting CEO Lisa Casias, who has been leading the organization’s staff since Parkinson’s departure.

Casias—who did not pursue the permanent CEO job—said that she and the rest of the organization’s staff members are “looking forward” to the new CEO starting.

“We’re preparing the transition and we’ll welcome [the new CEO] when that individual arrives,” Casias said during the meeting.

This unnamed CEO will be the fourth person to fill the permanent role atop the FirstNet Authority’s organizational chart, following Bill D’Agostino (when the position was titled as general manager), Mike Poth and Parkinson.

D’Agostino was appointed as general manager in April 2013, but the announcement quickly was overshadowed. During D’Agostino’s initial board meeting that month, Paul Fitzgerald—then a FirstNet Authority board member and sheriff of Story County, Iowa—alleged that the FirstNet board was not acting appropriately in a rant that dominated the public perception of the organization during its early years.

Poth became FirstNet Authority CEO in 2015 and led the organization as the RFP to build the nationwide public-safety broadband network (NPSBN) was released in January 2016. He left the FirstNet Authority in the fall of 2018, after AT&T was selected as the NPSBN contractor and all 56 U.S. states and territories declined an opt-out option to let AT&T build the FirstNet system within their jurisdictions.

Parkinson was announced as the FirstNet Authority’s permanent CEO in March 2020 after being named acting CEO in October 2018. Parkinson also served as acting co-CEO with FirstNet Authority CTO Jeff Bratcher for several months.