BOSTON -- Starry, a wireless technology company pioneering the deployment of next generation, high-capacity, fixed wireless broadband today announced that Gregg D. Bien has joined the company as Chief Financial Officer. Bien will lead financial operations and play a role in strategic corporate development for the company. Prior to joining Starry, Bien served as the Chief Financial Officer for the mobile division of Assurant, Inc., a Fortune 500 specialty insurance company.

Bien is joining Starry’s senior leadership team at a time of rapid growth. Starry employs approximately 500 people across five markets and has raised more than $250 million from world-class investors including Tiger Global, KKR, FirstMark Capital, Fidelity Management and Research Company, ArrowMark Partners, IAC, Related Companies and HLVP. Starry’s network is live and serving subscribers in Boston, Los Angeles, Washington, DC, New York City and Denver with 17 additional markets in build process.

“Starry is in a period of explosive growth,” said Starry CEO and co-Founder Chet Kanojia. “We have more than doubled our headcount in the last year and have expanded our network footprint coverage to pass more than 1.5 million households. Bringing Gregg in at this juncture will be critical to maintaining this pace of growth and maintaining the financial discipline that has enabled this success. Gregg is a proven financial leader who understands how to drive success in this industry. We’re thrilled to welcome him to Starry.”

Bien has three decades of experience in senior financial leadership roles. As Chief Financial Officer at Assurant, Bien oversaw the financial initiatives, pricing, and global financial deal development that resulted in exponential growth at Assurant’s mobile division. Prior to Assurant, Bien was Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer for The Signal, a cell phone insurance provider which was acquired by Assurant in 2008. Before joining The Signal, Bien served as Vice President of Financial Operations for TeleCorp PCS, a wireless provider covering 32 million people. Bien joined TeleCorp in its start-up phase and was instrumental in its growth, resulting in an IPO in in 1999 and being acquired by AT&T in a $4.7B transaction in 2002.

Additionally, Bien has worked in financial positions at AT&T, The Walt Disney Company, and in public accounting for Touche Ross, now Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. Bien holds a CPA and a Master of Business Administration from the University of California Los Angeles.

Starry