Keith
Burge
Keith Burge,
General Partner, joined Endeavor in 2003 bringing 27 years of diverse
business experience founding, developing and operating high-growth
firms ranging from start-ups to NASDAQ-exchange public companies in the
telecommunications, computer systems and utility support industries.
Previously, Mr. Burge led the restructuring and refinancing of Silver
Spring Networks, a provider of wireless communication services to the
energy and automated meter reading (AMR) industries, which allows real
time access to consumption data from residential and commercial
electricity, gas and water customers, during which time he raised funds
to properly capitalize the company and secured a replacement CEO.
In 1996, Mr. Burge co-founded Convergent Communications (CONV), a
facilities-based provider of comprehensive voice and data services to
small and mid-sized businesses. As President and COO, he
guided the company through both organic growth and acquisitions to
nearly 2,000 employees with presence in 35 cities and managed the
deployment of a nationwide network of Cisco packet-based switches
allowing the delivery of a broad platform of Internet Protocol (IP)
services. In 1999, Mr. Burge was selected as a
finalist for Entrepreneur
of the Year by Ernst & Young, and
with revenues approaching $250 million; the Company completed its IPO
led by Goldman Sachs, J. P. Morgan and Warburg Dillon Read, reaching a
market capitalization of $800 million. Mr. Burge transitioned
from Convergent in a control-equity transaction in mid 2000.
Prior to Convergent, Mr. Burge founded Fiber Optic Technologies, Inc.
(FOTI), which provided design and implementation of high speed optical
and twisted pair network infrastructures to nearly 12,000 clients over
a nine-year period beginning in 1986. As CEO, Mr. Burge grew
the company to 600 employees with offices in 13 cities and FOTI became
the largest AT&T Systimax VAR in the country. In
1993, Inc. Magazine
rated FOTI the 86th fastest growing private company
in the nation. With annual revenues exceeding $65 million, Mr. Burge
sold FOTI to ICG Communications (ICGX), a leading national C-LEC in
1995.
Mr. Burge began his career with Digital Equipment Corporation in 1978
and spent nine years in a variety of sales and management positions,
consistently achieving DEC
100 status.
Mr. Burge received a BS degree with honors from South Dakota State
University. He has provided a variety of business advisory
and consulting services to early stage and emerging firms and has
served on the board of directors of eight public and private companies.
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