Rod Millar

Chief Executive Officer

Rod Millar is the Chief Executive Officer of Brightstar Corp., a subsidiary of SoftBank Group and a global leader of end-to-end solutions in mobile device lifecycle management. His broad career in the wireless industry spans over 20 years having served executive positions with Brightstar, Sprint, Tech Data and other prominent global telecommunications brands.

Rod started his career in the wireless industry with 20:20 Mobile, a leading European distributor of mobile phones where he served as Managing Director from 2000-2006.  During that time, he successfully transformed the business from a pure hardware distributor to a value-added service provider, doubling profits and growing revenue substantially.

In 2007, Rod was appointed the first President of Brightstar Europe. In this role, he was quick to develop customer relationships and establish Brightstar businesses in 18 European countries, leading Brightstar to surpass US$3 billion in revenue in only a few years.

In 2012, Rod joined Tech Data as SVP of Worldwide Mobility Solutions where he grew the European business and led a turnaround for the Americas business. Rod was then asked to join Sprint as SVP of Product, Supply Chain, Insurance and Leasing and successfully revamped the carrier’s supply chain, streamlined operations and renegotiated all commercial relationships to enable sustainable growth.

In 2019, Rod was handpicked by Marcelo Claure, Executive Vice President and Chief Operations Officer of Softbank Group Corp, to serve as the new Chief Executive Officer and board member of Brightstar Corp and will lead the company in the next phase of its journey with the same innovative and customer-centric passion that rendered unrivaled results in his previous ventures.

Jack Negro

Chief Financial Officer

Jack has more than 20 years of corporate finance experience, including 10 years leading finance organizations in the telecommunications and wireless industries.  Prior to his appointment as Chief Financial Officer, Jack led our treasury and financial planning and analysis groups.

His career began as a risk management consultant with Marsh & McLennan before spending several years as a manager of treasury & capital markets at Simon Property Group.  He then joined the wireless industry with BrightPoint for whom he managed strategic development / M&A, corporate planning, and Americas finance.

Immediately preceding his tenure at Brightstar, Jack was responsible for corporate planning & reporting as part of finance transformation at Stanley Black & Decker.

Jack holds a B.S. in International Management and Finance from Butler University, an MBA from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, and is a Certified Treasury Professional (CTP).

Ray Roman

Chief Commercial Officer & Global President, Device Protection

Ray has 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.

Catherine Smith

EVP, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Secretary

Catherine Smith is EVP, Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel & Secretary for Brightstar. She also 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 global real estate and indirect procurement as well as the HR organization. Moreover, Catherine supports Brightstar’s CEO on strategy execution and implementation.

Catherine was named 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 stays active in her local community by regularly speaking on these subjects. In 2017, she was profiled in Leaders Magazine’s feature on women leaders. Most recently, under her leadership, Brightstar was recognized as a World’s Most Ethical Company, and it received the National Association of Women Lawyers 2018 Challenge Award for adopting, hiring, retaining, promoting general employment practices designed to increase representation of women to one-third of leadership positions.

Catherine has over 20 years of legal experience. Excelling at sound corporate governance, she champions the benefits of diversity within the company and ensures 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. In these positions, she used her expertise to contribute to the separation of Motorola, Inc. into two independent, publicly traded companies. She also 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 from Georgetown University Law Center.