CICADASM – LEADERSHIP TEAM

Kate spent 10 years with telecom carriers, including CenturyLink, tw telecom and Segra.  She was a leading customer rep at all stops, but a career highlight was being named Segra’s Employee of the Year in 2018.  She also was responsible for rebranding the name of the company to “Segra".

At CICADA, Kate oversees all service, sales and operations.  Her style is to stay close to the customer as much as possible, particularly through installation and escalation.  Her customer support experience at her previous companies is invaluable to CICADA.  She’s seen it all and can quickly identify strengths and weaknesses in all facets of telecommunications and technology.  She recalls a common theme from her career: despite promises, no company can do it all and a company’s strengths may change quickly.

Kate’s dream of delivering true custom solutions to customers became reality in 2021 with the launch of CICADA. She is most grateful to the customers, old and new, who took the leap with her on this new journey.  Under her leadership, CICADA changes and grows to meet customer needs -“never the other way around", she says.  Her mantra at CICADA is incessant improvement and relentless commitment to the customer.

At each day’s end, she always asks herself, “What have I done today to help improve a business?" Kate believes her servant approach has accelerated CICADA’s rapid growth. 

Kate holds a BA degree in Mass Communications from the University of South Carolina. She lives in Columbia, SC with her husband Hunter and children Hunt, Hampton, and Marion.  Off the job, she spends as much time with family as possible.  They enjoy lots of baseball, fishing, any outdoor activity, travel and cooking. 

Dwayne, known to the trade as “Double D" is a 25-year-plus telecom veteran and award-winning sales management professional.

Before seizing the opportunity to help launch CICADA, for a brief time he directed strategic planning for Infinity Networks.  In his 2011-2018 tenure with Spirit/Segra Communications, as head of enterprise sales, he built, trained and led a team of 5 sales managers and 34 sales reps through offices in Georgia and the Carolinas.  His team grew enterprise sales by 200% and exceeded sales and margin targets in 6 of his 7 years with the company.

Previously, with Windstream Communications and its predecessor firms New South and Nuvox, he led sales and account management, while earning Presidents Club and Premeir Circle awards 8 times. In that stretch he led 6 sales managers and 50 sales reps.

Dwayne considers his strong points effective communication, talent evaluation, motivation and planning.  His experience includes human resource functions and strategic business planning. Customer retention is of prime importance, he says, and the main focus of CICADA.

Dwayne has made it a point to be involved in his communities, including Chambers of Commerce in Columbia, Greenville and Charleston; Dream Center, an afterschool program for underpriviledged kids; United Way; and other social service programs targeting children and families.

Dwayne graduated from Winthrop University with a Business Administration degree.  He and his wife of 32 years live in Greenville, SC. They have three children, Jordan, Rebecca, and Lauren.  They love lake time, traveling and sports – he’s especially fond of golf!

Lin Garner brings nearly three decades of broad telecom leadership to Cicada as its newly named Southeast Vice President of Sales. 

Lin retired from Segra in mid-2021 after opening that firm’s Triad office in Greensboro, NC, in 2018.  Previously he spent many award-winning years as Vice President/General Manager of the Triad Region for tw telecom/Century Link. His sales and operational background also includes stints at Executone and NUVOX.

A dedicated mentor and trainer, Lin grew sales at every stop through intense customer focus.  His primary goal: retaining customers by meeting their needs for product, support and advice.  “Over the years, our teams consistently retained 90%-plus of our customers, despite limited product sets, Lin said. “Now we can offer customers Cicada’s world-class product sets and support system.”  Lin believes Cicada will not only grow, but improve the way client businesses view the telecom industry.

Community service plays a large role in Lin’s life.  He’s a 50-year member, officer, and teacher at First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro. Lin is a long-time supporter of youth athletics in Greensboro as a coach and sponsor with baseball and lacrosse, as well as, a Pro-Am volunteer at the PGA Tour Wyndham Championship. A special interest as a past board member is US Ignite-Greensboro, a non-profit aimed at expanding Internet quality and access in the area.

Lin and wife Teresa live in the Greensboro area, enjoying golf and trips to the mountains and beach aboard their treasured Indian Roadmaster motorcycle. Travel and fishing outings often involve the whole family—including their five grandchildren.