Brian Chesnut has been appointed chief accounting officer of Plano-based DZS, a global provider of broadband networking and AI-driven cloud software solutions.
Chesnut will report directly to CFO Misty Kawecki, the company said.
“The leadership team and board of directors recognized the importance of making this critical role part of our senior management team as we are more committed than ever to improving internal controls, accounting processes and corporate governance,” Kawecki said in a statement. “Brian brings a wealth of accounting expertise and leadership from an impressively wide range of global private and public companies including Big Four accounting firms and has a proven track record of navigating even the most complex of financial environments. Brian’s deep knowledge and strategic insights will strengthen our financial operations and support DZS’ mission to deliver cutting-edge broadband networking and AI-driven cloud software solutions.”
Chesnut will be responsible for working closely with the CFO, senior leadership, and the company’s new independent public accounting firm, BDO USA, overseeing all corporate accounting functions including reporting, governance, and internal controls.
The company said Chesnut is an accomplished executive who brings nearly 15 years of accounting leadership experience to DZS.
Before DZS, Chesnut was the vice president and head of corporate accounting for Continental Battery Systems, where he helped manage $1 billion in revenue for the company’s U.S. and Canadian divisions, led a successful Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) implementation to combine seven legacy companies, and established internal controls to improve financial statement reporting.
He also served in various senior management roles with several public companies including Jacobs Engineering, where he designed and implemented a consolidation process to improve reporting on $1.5 billion in revenue from Jacobs’ joint ventures.
“I’m thrilled to join DZS during such a pivotal time in the company’s history,” Chesnut said in a statement. “Charlie Vogt and the leadership team have laid out a clear vision for how the company will differentiate itself from the competition through continued innovation and a customer-first entrepreneurial approach. I look forward to working with the DZS team across the world to not only meet but exceed our financial goals and build on recent critical strides DZS has made to bolster its financial standing.”
DZS said Chesnut joins the company after several strategic transactions including securing $25 million of working capital through a private placement of DZS common stock and a term loan and the divestiture of the company’s lower margin Asia business, which eliminated $43 million of debt and raised an additional $5 million.
Get on the list.
Dallas Innovates, every day.
Sign up to keep your eye on what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth, every day.
R E A D N E X T
-
Keith Scally has joined Richardson-based Cariloop, a comprehensive caregiver support platform that combines cloud-based tools and personalized, professional coaching services, as chief product officer. The company said that Scally will oversee its tech-enabled, human-powered innovation initiatives as they continue to create game-changing solutions that reduce the stress and burden felt by working caregivers and families. “Keith is a phenomenal product leader and brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to our team. He has such a bold, creative vision and a fierce passion for building products that have the potential to help families on a global scale,” CEO Michael Walsh…
-
The moves follow a recent infusion of $4.1 million in strategic financing as Stryve looks to fuel its growth in the consumer packaged goods sector.
-
DZS said Scott St. John will be responsible for leading global sales for the company and will focus on driving accelerated revenue growth across the Americas and Europe, Middle East and Africa, and Australia/New Zealand regions.
-
SignaPay, an Irving-based payments processing provider, has added David Leppek as chief technology officer. In this role, Leppek will manage all information technology functions for the organization, including developing and improving SignaPay's proprietary gateway, risk management, and CRM platforms. CEO John Martillo welcomed Leppek to the SignaPay executive leadership team, saying in a statement, "His stellar reputation in the payments space and extensive experience leading technology teams will be invaluable as we continue to scale our business and provide best-of-class solutions." Martillo added that he looks forward to Leppek's contributions during SignaPay's "extraordinary growth." According to SignaPay, Leppek is a…
-
Veteran technology leader Dave Moore has been named chief technology officer of Plano-based QuickFee, an accounts receivable accelerator for professional service firms. Moore is an experienced technology leader in strategy and product development, cloud computing, big data, and machine learning. "We are thrilled to welcome Dave Moore to the QuickFee team as our Chief Technology Officer," Jennifer Warawa, president of QuickFee North America, said in a statement. "Moore's extensive experience, innovative thinking, and exceptional leadership skills will be invaluable as we continue to rapidly evolve our technology solutions, improve our customers' experience and drive our company's growth." The company said…
