Champion ONE Announces New CEO

CLEVELAND and ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., Sept. 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Champion ONE Family of Companies ("C1" or the "Company"), a leading designer, marketer, and supplier of optical networking components worldwide, today announced the appointment of Michael Rapp as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately. As part of this transition, Pete Kirchof, C1's acting CEO, will return to his primary role of Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors.

Mr. Rapp is a seasoned executive with more than 25 years' experience building and leading a diverse portfolio of technology companies. Throughout his career, Mr. Rapp's passion for developing diverse corporate cultures, built for accelerated growth, has allowed him to succeed in multiple organizations from start-ups to multi-billion-dollar companies. Mr. Rapp's extensive executive experience ranges from serving as Chief Revenue Officer at En Pointe IT Solutions to heading integration and growth strategy at Insight. He has also held key senior leadership positions at PCM, En Pointe Technologies, Software Spectrum, and Admor Memory.

"I am thrilled to be taking the helm of C1 at such an exciting time," said Mr. Rapp. "Over the last few years, the management team and employees have propelled C1 forward, achieving record-level performance and expanding C1's capabilities to serve its customers.  C1 is an industry leader with respected brands and exponential growth potential. I am humbled to be entrusted with leading this team and look forward to continuing C1's established history of recruiting top-tier talent and driving operational excellence while servicing customers at the highest levels."

Mr. Kirchof added, "The board and the management team have been working tirelessly over the last several years to build C1 into the world-class organization it is today, and Michael is a key addition to this growth strategy. Michael is the ideal leader to capitalize on the momentum of our successful merger with Approved Networks ? a recognized leader in the industry with significant runway ? and steward C1 through its next phase of accelerated growth. In addition to his outstanding track record of success and breadth of experience, Michael has proven himself to be an exceptional cultural fit for C1. We are confident that, with Michael leading the C1 team, we are well-equipped to create greater value for our customers and stakeholders."

About the Champion ONE Family of Companies:
Champion ONE is a designer, marketer, and supplier of optical networking components worldwide. Founded in 1992, Champion ONE is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, with additional offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Omaha, Silicon Valley, Albany, and Washington, D.C. The company provides high-performance, mission-critical open networking solutions for domestic and international telecommunications providers and category-leading businesses across both public and private sectors. In February 2020, Champion ONE merged with Approved Networks and its affiliate U.S. Critical, two recognized leaders in the programming, testing, and distribution of network solutions. The combined company is one of the world's largest independent optics companies, servicing the global market's leading telecommunication service providers, data centers and U.S. government agencies, among others. For more information, visit https://www.championone.com/.

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SOURCE Champion ONE