VPLS CEO and leadership

As Chief Architect & Senior Advisor, Ted Mektrakarn brings over 15 years of experience in technology development and management. Ted is responsible for the company’s vision, strategic direction, and operational management. Ted carries significant multi-industry knowledge and experience, advancing high-growth technology startups and industry-leading Fortune 500 companies alike. He is known for his ability to take promising technologies and organizations to the next level.

Ted’s experience in the industry includes past positions with companies like Brocade Communications thru the acquisition of Foundry Networks, Vivendi Universals - MP3.com, and AT&T CERFnet. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the largest Internet exchange system, Coresite’s Any2 Network Exchange.

Derek Garnier is a 30-year industry veteran in digital infrastructure, specializing in corporate strategy, and has successfully built, operated, and sold companies.

He was most recently co-founder of Arcadian Infracom, a long-haul fiber-optic company operating in the Southwest. Prior to Arcadian, Derek served as President and COO of Evocative Datacenters, the predecessor to VPLS, which he again joins as President and COO.

Derek also served as the CEO of Layer42 Networks, a national network services, and colocation provider, which he successfully exited in 2015 through a sale to Wave Broadband. Post-acquisition, Derek continued as Wave’s SVP of Datacenter services. Before his tenure at Layer42 Networks, Derek held management positions at QTS Datacenters and AboveNet Communications through the acquisition of Sitesmith, a global managed services provider of which he was an early employee. Derek began his career as an engineer, serving in the role of network and data center provider ISI, later renamed Global Crossing via multiple acquisitions, as well as at network companies MFS Datanet and Cabletron Systems.