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Tell us a little bit about yourself – who are you, and what is your background?

Hi! I’m Marcus Kitchens. I started my career as a GIS Analyst for a Houston, TX based firm after graduating college and interning @ Esri. After working in Houston for two years, I joined NISC as a MapWise Support Specialist. At NISC, I helped their members solve any mapping questions/concerns that they had. While @ NISC, I focused on the Telecom side of things. I spent three years @ NISC before I had the opportunity to work for Esri as an Account Manager for Local Government out of the St. Louis Regional Office. In this role @ Esri, I helped cities/counties (under 50k in population) in Arkansas, Kansas, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Kentucky modernize their ArcGIS platform. I worked in this role @ Esri for (almost) 5 years before joining COS Systems as a Senior Sales Executive. I’m ecstatic to be a part of this great team @ COS Systems and can’t wait to see what the future holds.

What caught your interest in COS Systems?

COS’ end-to-end-automation approach is what ‘caught my interest.’ I’m a big fan of automation when it comes to helping people with their work. The GREAT team spirit and the dedication to customers at COS Systems piqued my curiosity, too. I love working with a fun team dedicated to helping their customers. So – COS Systems was a no-brainer. The chance of participating in Fika may have played a role, too 😉 

What are your goals for the coming months?

To learn as much as possible about how our software works and how our software can help deliver services to the community! Also, I look forward to meeting my COS Systems colleagues and getting to know them.

Why should people contact you and press the “connect with Marcus” button?

We want to connect as many people as possible to fast and reliable internet. However, building, running, and operating fiber networks that can offer just that is extremely complex, and we have made it our goal to make it as automated, effective, and viable as possible. As part of the Sales Team, I would love to have a conversation about how COS Systems can make your job easier. No matter if you are a traditional operator who wants to offer your subscribers a better customer experience or if you own an Open Access Wholesale Network and want to increase take-rates and extend the number of services on your network – we can help automate your processes from beginning to end; from broadband survey and demand aggregation to zero-touch provisioning and automated, (wholesale) billing.

Tell us fun facts about yourself.

I can play the piano! I have 2 long-haired dachshunds that are a bundle of cuteness, but both of them keep me busy with their shenanigans. I LOVE riding bikes whether it’s mountain biking, gravel biking, road biking, or even an exercise bike! I love it all when it comes to biking. One of my dreams is to follow the Tour de France in person. I’ve been watching it on TV for 20+ years with my dad. I would love to see it in real life one day.

Norbert - The Open Access Expert, with a unique telecom background and extensive experience in Open Access Network operations.

 

Norbert will join forces with our sales team and ensure that our customers are well taken care of and get their voices heard. Born and raised in France, he has been living in the US for 22 years and is today based in San Francisco, California. From there, he will further strengthen our presence in the US, making it even easier to provide that little extra for our North American customers. Aside from helping our customers to get to know our system as well as possible, he will make sure their feedback is used to make our products even better.

Norbert added a creative touch to his background in engineering and on top of his master’s degrees in Telecom and Business Unit Management, studying Liberal Arts in Madrid. He has worldwide experience in the telecom and IT industries, working for global equipment suppliers and operators in large corporations and start-ups. He has worked in consulting, sales and operations, and managed relationships with government representatives, enterprises, and strategic partners. 

Norbert shares our passion for Open Access and has worked as an Operations Director for Covage, an open access network operator in France and Spain.

To name just a few more of his former positions, he has worked as Services Director for Huawei in France, and before that, held a position as Business Development Manager for Interwave, a Silicon Valley start-up selling wireless solutions in Latin America and Asia. 

Before joining our team, Norbert has been working as a Consulting Director/Account Manager, covering the US and Canada, for a software company that develops web-based work management software.

Aside from Norbert’s professional background, San Francisco bay is his playground and he has already invited the team on a trip on his new sailing boat. Other than that, he is a fan of the golden state warriors who just won the 2022 NBA Championship!

“Norbert has a unique combination of an international telecom background and being one of few in the USA with extensive Open Access Network operations experience. As we now see a wave of new Open Access operators starting up in North America, and choosing our platform for their operations, there is no doubt  Norbert will be of great value for our growing team and customer base,” says Isak Finér, COS Systems CRO. 

 

Click here to connect with Norbert