Ruckus Networks, an ARRIS company, today announced the appointment of Larry Birnbaum as vice president of Global Hospitality and Multi-Dwelling Unit (MDU) Business Development and Solutions. The hospitality industry veteran joins the leadership team, reporting to Chief Commercial Officer (CCO) Ian Whiting. In this role, Birnbaum owns the hospitality partner ecosystem and is responsible for driving the business to its next stage of growth.
“Larry joins Ruckus at an exciting time when the company is accelerating growth and market share in the hospitality market,” said Ian Whiting, CCO of Ruckus Networks. “He brings a wealth of industry expertise and long-standing relationships with service providers, hotel brands and ecosystem partners, and has an exceptional understanding of the opportunities and challenges our hospitality partners face. His leadership and experience will be extremely valuable to the team.”
Birnbaum joins Ruckus from VT Group, where he was vice president of Commercial Solutions and developed the first hospitality vertical practice. Prior to VT Group, he was senior vice president of Sales at leading hospitality service provider GuestTek Interactive, responsible for global accounts, sales administration and business development. His 30 years’ experience includes various global sales, business development and leadership positions at start-up StayOnline, acquired by LodgeNet Interactive, Applied Microsystems Corporation and Arrow Electronics.
“I am excited to join Ruckus Networks and especially impressed with the breadth and depth of the portfolio of products and solutions, which address the needs of the hospitality and MDU markets,” said Birnbaum. “I look forward to helping hospitality partners realize the potential of Ruckus’ differentiated portfolio—from its IoT Suite and CBRS-band LTE products, to its proven Wi-Fi, switching and cloud solutions. Ruckus products enable customers to ultimately do more with their networks.”
Hospitality/MDU is the largest vertical market for Ruckus Networks. Ruckus is a leading network solutions provider for many global hospitality brands, and also serves the fast-growing MDU/MTU (Multi-Dwelling and Multi-Tenant Units) market with solutions for several subverticals including student housing, assisted living, high-end residential housing and military bases.