Top Ten Movers and Shakers in Telecom

How long has it been since we've updated our list of the industry's Top Ten Movers and Shakers? Let's put it this way: the last time we fiddled with the list, George Bush was the president and the U.S. was at war with Iraq.

And, even more painfully, just six months ago we led you to believe that we were somewhat close to finishing the list, just lacking a few suggestions from our smarter-than-average readers (see Pick Your 'Movers & Shakers').

Boy, were we wrong.

So, while we roost here with egg on our faces – and why not? It's good for the complexion – we present our newest, most updatedest list for your edification.

But first, a note of explanation:

This Top Ten Movers and Shakers list follows a familiar format at first, but then it gets kinda weird (well, okay, weirder). .

Our new list still has pictures and descriptions of each Mover and/or Shaker. We want you to know them. We want you to walk up to them at tradeshows and pat them on the back with one hand, while thrusting your resumé into their gut with the other, all the while droning on about how they're just the kind of person you've always "envisioned" yourself "working with."

Unlike our past Top Ten lists (see The Top Ten Movers and Shakers in Optical Networking ), however, our "Has Been Bin" has been upgraded with a special new feature: Really Horrible Haiku™. We've decided that in the post-bubble environment, just about every former Mover and Shaker needs to be moved into the "Has Been Bin," so it's time to find a more elegant manner of trashing them.

What about those who came close to making the list? We chose not to recognize them this time around. And it really would have been a stretch to include them. Need an example? Well, okay, we'll share one nomination:

I pick CEO Barry Nalls of Masergy Communications.

While AT&T, Qwest, and everyone else tout IP/VPNs, Barry started a company 3 years ago that does MPLS. No one, and I mean no one, does Native IP with MPLS.

Barry’s Chief Scientist heads up the MPLS Forum, Mr. Nalls has raised $100 million in a non-VC funding period, and Barry is at the forefront of truly revolutionizing the industry... If you rally take a look at the Website, there is no smoke and mirrors... I say, last year, Light Reading missed Barry. This year, it’ll be hard to ignore him.

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