Paul Galant

Chief Executive Officer

Bio coming soon.

Reza Taleghani

Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer

Reza Taleghani joined Brightstar in August 2015 as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, responsible for overall leadership of Brightstar’s global finance function, including responsibility for financial planning, treasury, accounting, tax, financial reporting, and internal audit functions. In 2017, Reza was promoted to President, expanding his responsibilities to include Brightstar’s financial services line of business, Brightstar Flex, and Brightstar’s device protection business, Brightstar Halo.

Taleghani joined Brightstar from J.P. Morgan where he held leadership roles in several of the firm’s divisions with a career spanning investment banking, commercial banking, and asset management.

A seventeen-year veteran of the firm, he worked in the Investment Bank in New York and London, in both coverage and product roles, before joining Commercial Banking where he was Managing Director and Group Head of Corporate Client Banking for the Northeast and Canada regions. There he led teams in New York, Boston and Toronto to deliver the full breadth of commercial and investment banking solutions to more than 350 corporations. He subsequently worked in J.P. Morgan Asset Management as a Managing Director and Market Manager in the Private Bank.

Beyond banking, Taleghani served as the President and CEO of Sterling Airlines A/S, a leading low-cost Scandinavian airline based in Copenhagen, Denmark.

He holds dual B.A. degrees in History and Organizational Behavior and Management from Brown University, and received a J.D. and M.B.A. from Villanova University.

Catherine Smith

EVP, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Secretary

Catherine Smith is EVP, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Secretary, and sits on the Board of Directors.  Catherine is responsible for leading the global legal operations for the world’s leading mobile services company. In addition, she manages Brightstar’s real estate and indirect procurement globally.

Catherine has also had responsibility for managing the HR organization, and also supports Brightstar’s CEO on strategy execution and implementation.

Catherine was named as a “Women to Watch” in Fierce Wireless’ 2015 Most Influential Women in Wireless List which noted her as one of the most prominent African-American women in the telecommunications industry. A passionate advocate of the benefits of diversity and inclusion, Catherine regularly speaks on this subject externally as well as staying active in the local community in Miami.  In 2017, she was profiled in Leaders Magazine’s feature on women leaders.  Most recently, under her leadership, Brightstar received the World’s Most Ethical Company and National Association of Women Lawyers 2018 Challenge Award Recipient for adopting hiring, retention, promotion, and general employment practices designed to increase representation of women to one-third of leadership positions.

Catherine has over 20 years of legal experience and she excels at practicing sound corporate governance, championing the benefits of diversity within the company, and ensuring both long-term organizational health and overall business success.

Prior to Brightstar, Catherine served as Vice President and Lead Counsel for Motorola, Inc. and Motorola Mobility, where she used her expertise to contribute to the separation of Motorola Inc. into two independent, publicly traded companies. She also held a variety of other executive positions and served as the President and Executive Sponsor for the Global Inclusion and Diversity Council.

Catherine holds a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from the University of Virginia, and a Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law School.

Emer Timmons

Chief Marketing Officer & President Global Enterprise

Emer Timmons is Brightstar’s Chief Marketing Officer & President Global Enterprise, responsible for all aspects of marketing for the company from branding through to customer execution. As President Enterprise Business Emer leads Brightstar’s strategic expansion into the Enterprise sector.  The Enterprise Managed Mobile Market (EMM) represents a market that is growing at 15% per year globally (Ovum, 2017) as Enterprise customers seek to address the demand from their employees for better service and more choice. Under Emer’s leadership Brightstar has launched a new channel focused on this exciting market through which we can sell all of Brightstar’s services and also bring the whole portfolio together under one new managed service – Brightstar Mobilelife for Enterprise.

Emer joined Brightstar in July 2016 with 20 years of international experience in telecommunications, most recently with BT Group where she held several senior executive roles. From 2010-2015, she led the BT Global Services’ UK business, which included responsibility for corporate customers globally and accountability for a multi-billion UK & Global P&L. From 2015-2016, she served as President of BT Group Strategic Deals and Customer Engagement. In that role, she worked closely with BT Group customers and prospects, and was responsible for delivering deals from £50 million to more than £1bn in value.

Emer also sits on the UK’s Women’s Business Council, where she is co-chair of the Men as Agents of Change (MACA) initiative, ensuring that women have the opportunity to play a full role in the economic life of the nation. She is also a Royal Marines Business Ambassador. Emer has earned many accolades throughout her career, including placing fourth in the 2017 FT and HERoes Champions of Women in Business list, UK Woman of the Year from the Women in IT Awards, the Stevie International Awards for both Global Female Business Executive of the Year and Global Maverick of the Year, and Female UK Corporate Leader.  Emer was also awarded the CBI First Women Award for Business Services.

Emer is a Non-Executive Director of Paddy Power and sits on the audit and remuneration committees.

She completed her bachelor’s degree in Mathematics and Economics from the National University of Ireland, Maynooth.

Michael Singer

SVP, Chief Strategy Officer

Michael Singer is Brightstar’s SVP, Chief Strategy Officer and has been with the company since 2012.  He is responsible for developing Brightstar’s global strategy and for sourcing new business opportunities organically and through partnerships, investments, and acquisitions.  Michael also serves on the board of several of Brightstar’s portfolio companies.

Prior to joining Brightstar, Michael worked at B/E Aerospace, a public multinational in the commercial and defense aerospace sector, where he was the Corporate Vice President, Strategic Planning and Chief Information Officer.  While there, he was responsible for leading the Strategic Planning, Corporate Marketing, Corporate Development, and Technology Departments.  Prior to B/E Aerospace, he was the Director of Global Business Development for Tyco International based in Boca Raton, Florida, where he led the development and execution of the global Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) business strategy for the Tyco Fire & Security division.  He has also held roles as a strategy & operations consultant with A.T. Kearney and as a business development manager with Pratt & Whitney.

Michael holds a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Virginia and a Master’s in Business Administration, with highest honors, from the University of Virginia Darden School of Business.

Chad Couch

SVP, Chief Information Officer

Chad Couch is SVP, Chief Information Officer at Brightstar Corp. He is responsible for the information technology and computer systems that support enterprise-wide strategic goals and the implementation of technology to increase information accessibility and integrated systems management.

Chad has a strong track record with experience in various aspects of manufacturing and supply chain. Prior to joining Brightstar in September 2014, Chat was CIO of Latin America and IT Global Sales and Communication for Bacardi, one of the largest privately held wine and spirits companies in the world.

From 2007-2011, Chad held leadership positions with Bacardi as Solutions Delivery & SAP Program Director and Solutions Delivery Director and CTO.  Before Bacardi, Chad spent 13 years as Vice President of Manufacturing Systems for Tyson Foods, the world’s largest processor and marketer of chicken, beef and pork and the second-largest food production company in the Fortune 500.

Chad holds a BSE in Electrical Engineering and B.S. in Engineering from Arkansas State University.

Rafael De Guzman

SVP, CEO Office & Strategic Initiatives

Rafael M. de Guzman, III, serves as SVP, CEO Office & Strategic Initiatives to the CEO at Brightstar Corp. where he supports the CEO and other senior executives defining and implementing the overall strategy.

Prior to joining the Office of the Chief Executive Officer, Rafael served as Chief of Staff and on the High Growth Markets business development team working collaboratively to evaluate, define, and implement new subsidiaries and initiatives for Brightstar in developing countries around the world.

Prior to Brightstar, Rafael spent almost 10 years working at brand and communications firms. In New York, he served as the Business Development Manager for Desgrippes Gobe, and as Associate Program Director at Enterprise IG, where he worked on strategic branding projects for companies like Ford, Westvaco, Holcim, Metavante, and others.

Rafael holds a J.D. from the University of Miami and a bachelor’s degree in history from Princeton University.

David Nanayakkara

President, Brightstar International

David Nanayakkara is President of Brightstar International, responsible for operations in Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He is responsible for setting the strategic direction, overall P&L, and management of partners, services, and customer relationships.

David began working in the mobile industry in 1996 with Ericsson Mobile, and previously held roles as General Manager of Sales and Retail, respectively. Since joining Brightstar as Director of Strategic Sourcing in Australia in 2006, David has held multiple leadership positions. He previously led the Australian business as the Managing Director and later as the Regional Managing Director of Oceania. He also served as President, Asia Pacific from 2013 – 2018, leading operations in 12 countries with services contracts among many of the leading carriers, retailers and enterprise customers including Telstra, Maxis, KT Korea, Airtel India and Taiwan Mobile.

Known for his charismatic and motivational leadership style, David is devoted to the advancement of the wireless industry and is passionate about empowering employees. He holds a Bachelor of Business- Marketing from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) and an MBA from Monash University.

Ray Roman

President, US & Canada

Ray Roman is the President, US & Canada responsible for managing and growing the $4+ billion business that provides innovative wireless services to manufacturers, operators and retailers in more than 50,000 points of sale.

Ray joined Brightstar in August, 2014 bringing more than 25 years of operational and managerial experience, including significant experience in wireless telecommunications and technology. Ray was executive vice president and chief operating officer for Leap Wireless International, Inc. / Cricket Communications, Inc. He was responsible for overseeing the company’s marketing, network operations, customer care and retention, and supply chain management initiatives.

Prior to his role at Cricket, Ray served in senior executive positions at Dell Inc., first as vice president of global service and operations, software and peripherals for the consumer division and then as vice president of sales, operations and service for the mobility division. Additionally, Ray served in various senior sales and operating roles at Motorola; including running global sales and operations where he helped the business grow from $13B to $23B over 7 years. He also served in various sales, general management and finance roles at companies like Ameritech Corporation, Kraft Foods and Allstate Insurance.

Ray received a B.S. in finance from the University of Illinois-Chicago and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

Ray is active in the community as a wish-grantor for Make-a-Wish-Illinois and has served as a member of the Dean’s Advisory Council at University of Illinois-Chicago since 2002. Ray also spent time helping organizations like the Garfield Boys and Girls Club in his hometown and the Le Flambeau Foundation which is building a sustainable Haiti via education.

Pablo Suarez

President, Latin America

Pablo Suarez is the President, Latin America for Brightstar Corp. He is responsible for developing and executing go-to-market strategy to penetrate major industry verticals and build dominant market share across the LATAM client base.

Previously, Pablo was Brightstar’s Senior Vice President of LATAM Services, Key Regional Operator Accounts and Service Transformation from 2012-2014, where he oversaw the integration of the distribution and services business units.

Pablo has 20+ years of experience in the industry, and he has an exceptional record of value-added success in developing and implementing strategies for M&A, portfolio development and management, and developing successful marketing and sales strategies for global markets. Prior to joining Brightstar in April 2012, he was the Vice President and General Manager of Avnet Americas.

Pablo has bachelor’s degrees in agricultural science, administration and financial planning for agro-business, and economics & agro business applications. He earned his post-graduate degree in business management & executive management from Universidad Austral in Buenos Aires.

Remon Gazal

SVP, Brightstar Logic & Chief Commercial Officer

Remon Gazal is the SVP, Brightstar Logic & Chief Commercial Officer for Brightstar, responsible for overall leadership of Brightstar’s global commercial functions, including sales and growth strategies for the Carrier and Retail customer segments, business planning and performance, global sales operations, and executive leadership of the Top25 Key Account Management program. Remon also heads up the Brightstar Logic business unit, which focuses on supply chain advisory, data analytics, and both forward and reverse logistics.

Prior to this role, Remon held various senior roles over eight years in Brightstar, including two years leading the company’s global transformation program, both customer facing and regional roles in the APAC, Europe, and MEA regions, and leadership roles prior to Brightstar within the Acute Health sector in the UK and Australia, and consulting for BT across the South of England as part of the NHS’ National Program for IT.

Remon holds a Masters of Business Technology from the University of New South Wales.

Andy Zeinfeld

President, Brightstar Echo & Brightstar Gear

Andy Zeinfeld is our President, Brightstar Echo & Brightstar Gear.

Andy has global responsibility for the strategy and all commercial aspects of our buy-back business, including collections, open market sourcing, sales, as well as the management of our Strategic OEM relationships. Andy also provides leadership for Brightstar Gear, our accessory business, supporting the regions with product and sales strategy.

Prior to his current position, Andy served as Brightstar President of Distribution for the U.S. & Canada. Before joining Brightstar, Andy was the CEO of Simplexity, the largest online consumer and B2B provider of wireless phones and service in the U.S., from its inception in 2007 until 2013.

Previously, Andy was a 28-year veteran of RadioShack. He served in a variety of leadership roles, with the last position as Chief Retail Services Officer and managed one of the largest wireless specialty chains with thousands of employees focused on sales to the end consumer.

Cassio Calil

SVP, Brightstar Flex

Cassio Calil is SVP, Brightstar Flex and has been in this role since March 2016. His group is responsible for making mobile technology available to everyone, via designing financial solutions for manufacturers, operators and retailers. Cassio’s team also provides consumers with financing solutions for existing and future phone purchases via affordable upgradable solutions.

Prior to this role, Cassio led the International Corporate Client banking of J.P.Morgan Commercial Bank.His group was responsible for providing capital structure, risk management, funding, investments and working capital solutions across key countries for J.P.Morgan’s corporate clients of the Commercial Bank. Prior to that, he was the President of J.P. Morgan Asset Management in Brazil where he was charged with accelerating the growth of existing institutional, retail and corporate businesses in Brazil, coordinating product roll-outs from Investment Management and Gávea, and driving the development, marketing and sales of new products across the platform. He also provided support to the Global Strategic Investment Advisory Group (SIAG), with the objective of delivering a solutions-based approach to clients in Brazil. Cassio was also a member of the JPMorgan Commercial Bank Corporate Client Management Committee and the International Banking Steering Committee.

Prior to this role, Cassio led the Structured Products and Corporate Solutions Group within J.P. Morgan’s Investment Banking division. His group provided J.P. Morgan’s global and local corporate clients with tailor-made products and solutions as well as a wide set of Corporate Finance, Pension Solutions and Risk Management tools to help clients perform comprehensive capital structure and corporate wide risk management analysis for their respective underlying business needs and financial policies.

Cassio was also the Assistant Treasurer of Global Operations and Financial Risk Management for IBM Corporation in Armonk, New York. He was responsible for IBM’s capital structure and capital planning, global funding and capital market activities, enterprise financial risk management (foreign exchange, interest rates and operations). He was also responsible for global cash management and treasury re-engineering.

He was Vice-President of the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce located in New York, from March 2010 until March 2013.

He is a master’s degree candidate in Finance from University College of Dublin  Ireland, and holds a master’s degree in Economics from Macquarie University Sydney, Australia and an honors/ bachelor’s degree in Economics from Mackenzie University – São Paulo.

Marc Crisafulli

SVP, Brightstar Halo

Marc is SVP, Brightstar Halo, with operations on five continents.

Marc’s passion is building and leading global teams to deliver positive outcomes.  Before joining Brightstar, Marc ran national and international businesses or divisions of public and private companies focused on professional services, technology and the lottery/gaming sector.  His positions have included managing partner of Hinckley Allen LLP, division president of GTECH Gaming Solutions and general counsel and chief compliance officer of GTECH Holdings Corporation.

Marc received his bachelor’s degree in economics and political science from Boston University, and his juris doctor degree from Georgetown University.