Leadership

President & Chief Executive Officer - DISH Network

Hamid Akhavan

Hamid Akhavan

Hamid Akhavan is the President and CEO of DISH and EchoStar, overseeing all aspects of each company and its subsidiaries. 

 

Before joining DISH and EchoStar, Hamid was most recently a partner at Twin Point Capital, an investment firm, and a founding partner of Long Arc Capital LLC. He held a variety of executive  leadership positions including CEO of Unify Inc. (formerly Siemens Enterprise Communications), Chief Operating Officer at Deutsche Telekom and CEO of T-Mobile International, in connection with which he also served as a member of the Board of Management of Deutsche Telekom.

 

Hamid has been a member of the Board of Directors of Vonage Holding Corp., a global cloud communications company, since 2016, and also serves on that Board’s Technology and Transactions Committees. In addition, Hamid has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Anterix Inc., a wireless communications company, and is a member of its Compensation and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committees. 

 

Hamid earned his Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from the California Institute of Technology and his Master of Science in the same fields from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He’s an avid photographer, woodworker and music enthusiast.

EVP, External & Legislative Affairs

Jeff Blum

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Jeff Blum serves as DISH’s Executive Vice President, External & Government Affairs, overseeing public policy, regulatory and government affairs in Washington, D.C. He has been with DISH since 2005. Before coming to DISH, Jeff was a partner at the Los Angeles firm of Davis Wright Tremaine, where his practice focused on copyright, First Amendment and anti-piracy litigation. At Davis Wright Tremaine, Jeff co-represented a class of songwriters and music publishers in the Grokster P2P file sharing case, which was decided by the United States Supreme Court in favor of Jeff’s clients. The Grokster decision established a new basis for secondary copyright liability called "inducement liability." From 2003 to 2005, Jeff was a part-time lecturer at the University of Southern California, Annenberg School of Journalism where he taught media law. After graduating from law school, he clerked for Chief Judge Joseph Tauro of the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. 

 

He currently serves as Chairman of the Satellite Broadcasting and Communications Association (SBCA). Jeff also serves on the board of INCOMPAS, the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), the Open RAN Policy Coalition (ORPC) and the Broadband Internet Technical Advisory Group (BITAG). 

 

Jeff graduated summa cum laude and first in his class at Boston University School of Law, where he was a Note Editor of the Boston University Law Review. He received his undergraduate degree from McGill University with a Bachelor of Arts in History and Classics. He makes his home in Sandy Spring, Maryland with his partner, Rachel, and five-year old daughter, Amelia.

EVP, Corporate Development

Tom Cullen

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Tom Cullen serves as Executive Vice President of Corporate Development for DISH, overseeing the company's long-term strategic interests including new ventures, partner development and spectrum strategy. Tom has more than 39 years of experience in the telecom, cable, satellite and wireless sectors. Previously, he served in senior leadership roles at Charter Communications and MediaOne as well as two privately funded firms. Tom graduated from the University of Colorado with a master's degree in Business Administration and received his bachelor's degree in Business Administration from Northern Arizona University.

President and Chief Operating Officer - Wireless

John Swieringa

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As President and Chief Operating Officer of DISH Wireless, John Swieringa is responsible for all operational aspects of DISH’s wireless business including the deployment and management of DISH’s virtualized, O-RAN 5G broadband network, its retail wireless business, and its day-to-day activities.

 

John joined DISH in 2007 and has served in increasing leadership roles during his tenure with the company. He previously served as EVP and Group President of Retail Wireless where he was responsible for all aspects of DISH’s Retail Wireless business, including strategy, operations, sales and customer service for DISH’s retail wireless brands, including Boost Mobile.

 

John also has led as EVP of Operations, overseeing DISH’s In Home Services organization (which conducts residential and commercial installations), as well as the company’s Customer Service, Billing, Information Technology and Manufacturing & Distribution functions. Prior to that, he was the company’s SVP & Chief Information Officer, responsible for enterprise information technology strategy and operations. Earlier assignments in Information Technology include overseeing the company’s software development efforts as Vice President of Application Development & Architecture. John spent the first 10 years of his career working in Corporate Finance for DISH and other Fortune 500 companies.

 

Named a 2020 Rising Star by FierceWireless, John has also been recognized in the Denver Business Journal's 2015 40 Under 40 list, and honored as the 2015 Chief Information Officer of the Year by the Colorado Technology Association. John earned his bachelor’s degree from Bucknell University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business.