Diamond State Networks hires several employees, names CEO

Jonesboro-based wholesale broadband provider Diamond State Networks recently announced that it hired multiple employees and appointed Doug Maglothin as CEO. The company comprises a group of Arkansas electric cooperatives that are investing more than $1.8 billion to build a fiber optic network across the state.

According to a Wednesday (Feb. 8) news release, Maglothin was named CEO, effective in January. Maglothin has nearly two decades of leadership experience in the telecommunications industry and has facilitated the ongoing partnership between the 13 electric cooperatives comprising Diamond State Networks.

“Our board of directors is thrilled to have Doug in this leadership position,” said Mitchell Johnson, co-chair of Diamond State Networks’ board of directors. “His extensive knowledge in the telecommunications industry and strategic business development skills will ensure further progress in the broadband space for Arkansas.”

Since 2018, Maglothin served as partner and chief strategy officer for St. Louis-based telecommunications consulting firm Leverage Broadband Strategies. It began providing executive management services that were significant to the formation of Diamond State in 2020. Leverage will continue to work with Diamond State Networks, and Maglothin will remain a partner and owner of Leverage but will shift from day-to-day operations to a role on its board of directors.

“I am grateful to accept the CEO position with Diamond State Networks,” Maglothin said. “Leverage Broadband Strategies and Diamond State Networks are companies which are both very close to my heart. The growth that we have seen at Leverage is tremendous, and I appreciate every day the value that our customers gain through our expert resources. Diamond State and the cooperatives are making the largest collective fiber broadband investment in the history of our state, and being asked to help in leading a centerpiece of that mission is the honor of a lifetime for me.”

Maglothin earned an executive MBA and a master’s degree in information systems from the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of Arkansas. He also has a bachelor’s degree in marketing management from Western Governors University in Salt Lake City.

Following are the employees who recently started at Diamond State Networks:

• Marty Allen, chief technology officer
• Jill McDaniel, vice president of operations
• Ed Mallette, principal architect
• Chad Clark, senior network architect
• Jim Skiavo, director, project management office
• Bryan Pascua, director of information technology and systems
• Seth Elder, account and billing manager
• Chad Bennett, senior solutions engineer

Diamond State Networks opened its corporate office in Jonesboro over the summer. The company is governed by a board of directors comprising executive leaders from its 13 partner cooperatives or subsidiary fiber networks. Johnson, who’s also president and CEO of Fayetteville-based Ozarks Electric, co-leads the board of directors with Jeremiah Sloan, president and CEO of Jonesboro-based Craighead Electric.