Jill McDaniel named CEO of Diamond State Networks

Jill McDaniel has been named interim chief executive officer of Diamond State Networks (DSN). The move follows the departure of previous CEO Doug Maglothin, owner of Leverage Broadband Strategies, a consulting firm that helped found and grow DSN.

Maglothin is leaving DSN to focus on other broadband, middle mile and network opportunities at the state and national level.

“Doug is the visionary who helped take DSN from just a concept to a best-in-class network operator. We appreciate what he has helped the cooperatives to accomplish,” said Mitchell Johnson, CEO of Ozarks Electric Cooperative and chairman of the DSN board of directors.

“The past four-and-a-half years of leading the vision for DSN have been a career highlight for me,” added Maglothin. “Our most incredible accomplishment is the incomparable team that we have built which will carry this mission forward. Because of them, the sky is the limit for DSN, and I look forward to continuing our relationship with DSN in the years to come.”

McDaniel was named chief operating officer of DSN in November of 2023. Her previous role focused on network engineering and operations, project management, field operations and sales engineering.

McDaniel initially joined DSN as vice president of operations in December 2022. Her previous career path includes roles with Irby Utilities, Ritter Communications, Allo Communications and Windstream.

Based out of Jonesboro, Ark., DSN is owned by 14 of Arkansas’ electric cooperatives that are combining for the largest fiber optic broadband investment in the state’s history, with more than $2.2 billion in network being constructed across nearly 70% of the state.

Diamond State Networks’ mission is to make Arkansas the most significantly connected state in the country. DSN provides a 100% fiber optic network that focuses on reliability, quality and sustainability. The DSN network is made up of more than 50,000 miles of fiber reaching 600,000 potential customer locations.