Jean-Luc Abaziou, Chief Executive Officer

With a long and impressive track record as an international senior executive, Jean-Luc Abaziou took the helm of Simpler Networks after serving on its board of directors as a venture partner with Highland Capital, one of the company’s investor. At Highland Capital, Mr. Abaziou specialized in investments in network infrastructure and wireless innovation.

Mr. Abaziou was previously Vice President and General Manager of Ericsson IP Infrastructure and President and CEO of both Torrent Networking Technologies and Alcatel Data Networks. He is an advisor for the French Foreign Commerce Ministry and has served as a board member or advisor to George Washington University, the A. James Clark School of Engineering at the University of Maryland, the French-American Chamber of Commerce and California-based ANDA Networks. He holds a Master of Science in Computer Science and Electrical Engineering from France’s École Supérieure d'Électronique de l'Ouest.

Mike Perrault, Co-founder, President and Chief Operating Officer

A pioneer in the telecom industry, Simpler Networks' co-founder, President and Executive Vice President, Sales, Mike Perrault has over 20 years of innovation under his belt. He is instrumental in setting Simpler Networks' business and technology vision, as well as its strategies for success in the market.

Prior to taking on the role of President at Simpler Networks, Mr. Perrault served as the Director of Technology and Operations for Nortel Networks and as Director of Business Development for NORDX/CDT, a cable spinoff of Nortel Networks. Mr. Perrault holds an honors degree in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from McGill University.

Stéphane Ménard, Chief Technology Officer

Stéphane Ménard has been involved in the telecom, cable and networking industries for over 15 years. As co-founder and CTO of Simpler Networks, Mr. Ménard is instrumental in the concept and design of the Simpler Networks' Automated Distribution Frame (ADF) product line.

Prior to co-founding Simpler Networks, Mr. Ménard was Project Manager for Northern Telecom and Product Manager for NORDX/CDT, a cable spinoff of Nortel Networks. He holds a Bachelor of Electrical Engineering degree from Montreal's École Polytechnique.

Michel SansChagrin, Vice President, Business Development

Michel SansChagrin drives Simpler Networks' business development and works closely with partners and customers to fine-tune the company's products to meet market needs and to ensure their smooth integration into service provider operations.

Mr. SansChagrin has more than 20 years of experience in the telecommunications sector. Before joining Simpler Networks, he led Nortel Networks' optical network management product portfolio. Over a 15-year career at Nortel Networks, Mr. SansChagrin held several director-level positions, in market development for global carriers, global strategic marketing and optical product management. He holds an engineering degree from École Polytechnique and a M.Sc. in Telecommunications from Institut National de Recherches Scientifiques, both in Montreal.

Richard Breault, Vice President, Engineering

Richard Breault leads Simpler Networks' Engineering team to excellence and innovation in research and development. He has more than 20 years of experience innovating in the telecommunications sector.

Prior to taking on the role of Vice President, Engineering at Simpler Networks, Mr. Breault was General Manager of Tellabs Transport Group in Montreal. During his seven years at Tellabs, he was responsible for the development of three major networking products and for the management of an annual operating budget in excess of $20 million. Mr. Breault has also held management positions with Newbridge Networks and Bell Northern Research (Nortel Networks). He holds an M.Eng. in Electrical Engineering from École Polytechnique in Montreal.

Bernard Plaisant, Vice President, Sales - Europe, Middle East and Africa

Bernard Plaisant is responsible for managing Simpler Networks’ sales and business development efforts throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Mr. Plaisant has more than 35 year of experience in the telecommunications industry. He held a number of senior roles including senior engineering, business development, sales and marketing at a variety of high-profile companies, including Unisys, SITA and Nortel Networks.

Most recently, Mr. Plaisant served as Vice President of Sales (France) for ADC Telecommunications. He holds a High Engineering School Diploma in Mathematics and Computers from ENSIMAG in Grenoble.

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