Chris Holden has been appointed as the next chairman of the Fiber To The Home Council's board of directors, becoming the fifth person to hold that position since the Council was founded in 2004. Chris Holden replaces outgoing chairman Karel Helsen.
Chris Holden continues in his current role as Marketing Manager EMEA at Corning Ltd after a long career in various management positions within the telecommunications industry.
In his farewell message, Holden said: “The FTTH Europe Council can be proud of its achievements to date, with the annual Conference as its flagship event. This Conference is now the largest FTTH conference worldwide and is in the international media spotlight. I firmly believe that fiber access will power a whole host of new services and applications. The FTTH Europe Council’s 2015 strategy reflects this fact, and I am confident that the Council will be very effective in attracting new members from these industries.”
“Karel has done a great job in bringing FTTH to the attention of a much wider audience,” says Holden. “I am honored to take on this role, and I will continue to expand the work and scope of the Council. The FTTH ecosystem is vast, and everyone needs to be involved if fiber access networks are to reach all parts of Europe, including the most sparsely populated areas.”
The elections took place at the FTTH Europe Council General Assembly in Amsterdam, where members also elected a new Board of Directors and agreed on the work plan for the coming year. Key elements of the plan include raising awareness of the need for FTTH in Europe; positioning the Council as an accepted body on regulatory issues in Europe; and strengthening global cooperation with other FTTH Councils.
“The Council has made good progress compared to last year,” said Hartwig Tauber, Director General of the FTTH Europe Council. “Our members are optimistic about the future. High-speed broadband has become a matter of national importance in recent years, and the Council’s message – that FTTH is a future-proof solution for broadband services – is more important and relevant than ever.”
The new Board of Directors is composed of the following nine members:
Chris Holden, Corning - Chairman of the Board;
Sophie Pautonnier, Mitsubishi Electric - Treasurer;
Eric Festraets, Alcatel-Lucent
; Pastora Valero, Cisco;
Albert Grooten, Draka Communications
; Peleg Erlich, ECI Telecom;
Martin Hatas, Ericsson;
Paul Schwartz, PacketFront;
Richard Thomas, Prysmian.
The new Committee Chairs are:
Pierre Pigaglio, P&T Consulting - Chairman of the Implementation and Operations Committee;
Jan Schindler, Draka Communications - Chairman of the Market Intelligence Committee;
Karin Ahl, Rala - Chair of the Business Committee
Ad van de Noort assumes the role of CSO EMEA at LAPP Group
On January 1, 2026, Ad van de Noort officially assumed the role of CSO EMEA at LAPP Group. Since June 2025, he had been leading sales for the EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) region on an interim basis.
