Board of Directors

Ronald G. Roth serves as Clearfield Inc.’s Chairman of the Board. He has been with the Company since inception having previously been elected to the APA Cables and Networks board in 2000. Previously, he served as Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Waste Systems Corp., a privately held waste hauling and disposal company, for 25 years prior to its sale to a national solid waste management company in 1995.

In 1995, he started and served as Chairman of the Board of Access Cash International L.L.C., a North American provider of ATMs and related processing and financial services, until its sale in 2001.. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in marketing from Michigan State University.

A founding member of Clearfield, Inc., Cheri Beranek is considered a communications visionary. Her extensive leadership experience and unique management style combined deliver outstanding corporate performance.

Under her direction, Clearfield has recorded 14 consecutive years of profitability. Today, Clearfield is a multinational business with more than 250 employees and over 800 customers.

Earlier and throughout her career, Ms. Beranek held a variety of executive-level positions with emerging high-growth technology companies, including Americable, Transition Networks, Tricord Systems, and Digi International. She also has extensive non-profit experience including: the City of Fargo, the Metropolitan Planning Commission of Fargo/Moorhead, and North Dakota State University.

In addition to being a published author and public speaker at industry events, Ms. Beranek has been recognized with numerous awards and honors, including the 2016 Minnesota Technology Executive of the Year by Tech.MN, 2016 Female Executive of the Year in New York City by the International Stevie Awards, 2012 Women in Wireline from Fierce Telecom, 2012 regional finalist for Ernst & Young’s Entrepreneur of the Year, Stevie Awards for Business in 2011 as a finalist for Best Executive for non-services businesses and the 2009 Turn-Around of the Year, as well as the Twin Cities Business Journal’s Industry Leader Award in 2009 and Women to Watch award in 2004. Under her leadership, Clearfield was named to the prestigious Forbes Annual List of America’s Best Small Companies in 2013 and in 2021, ranked 12th in Forbes Top 100 Small Cap Companies listing.

Pat Goepel joined the board of directors of Clearfield in September of 2015. Since January 2010, Mr. Goepel has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Asure Software, Inc., a publicly held provider of workplace management software (Nasdaq: ASUR). He previously served as Asure Software’s Interim Chief Executive Officer from September 2009 to January 2010 and has served as its director since August 2009, becoming Chairman of the Asure Software Board in August 2020. Previously, he was the President and Chief Executive Officer of Fidelity Investment’s Human Resource Services Division from 2006 to 2008 and President and Chief Executive Officer of Advantec from 2005 to 2006. A former board member of iEmployee, Mr. Goepel currently serves on the board of directors of APPD Investments, and SafeGuard World International. He also served on the board of AllOver Media Holdings, Inc. until its sale to a private equity firm in March 2015.

Roger Harding has been a director since 2016. Mr. Harding served in multiple leadership roles with Alcatel-Lucent, including as the Vice President & General Manager, Global Switching until his retirement in 2008. Mr. Harding has a strong background in operations and the execution of operational strategies, as well as a deep understanding of the telecommunications and networking markets. Mr. Harding received a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration and management from the University of Central Oklahoma and attended several executive management programs at leading institutions, including Duke University, Harvard University, and the Wharton School of Business.

Charles N. Hayssen has been a director since September 2008. Since January 2009, Mr. Hayssen has served as the President of Safeway Driving School, a privately held provider of driver’s education services. From August 2007 to September 2008 Mr. Hayssen was a private investor. From August 2004 until August 2007, Mr. Hayssen was Chief Operating Officer of AllOver Media, Inc., an out-of-home media company. From September 2002 to April 2004, Mr. Hayssen was the Chief Financial Officer of ThinkEquity Partners LLC, an equity capital markets firm. Mr. Hayssen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Dartmouth College and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Donald R. Hayward has served as our director since 2007. Mr. Hayward brings extensive operational and financial expertise to the Board having led multiple manufacturing organizations, including Engel Diversified Industries (EDI) and Schaffer Manufacturing until his retirement in 2020. Formerly Mr. Hayward held the position of Director of Corporate Services for Minnesota Technology Inc., a publicly funded, non-profit in the support of the Minnesota Technology community. Mr. Hayward earned a Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin.

Jones brings to Clearfield nearly three decades of experience in the information communications industry. Over his career working for Tier One operators, Jones established significant expertise in network operations and fiber-focused enterprise transformations. He spent three decades at Verizon in a range of management positions, including most recently as Vice President of Network Transformation, where he oversaw the wireline transformation from copper to fiber for the entire enterprise. Prior to that, he was Region President of Network Operations at Verizon, where he managed field operations and sales. He also served as Area Vice President of Network Operations for Verizon Wireless, where he managed all wireless network planning, construction, and maintenance for the West Coast region.

Jones holds a Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering and Operations Research from the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and holds a Master of Business Administration from the College of William and Mary.

Wirsbinski brings to Clearfield more than 30 years of experience operationalizing both strategy and vision within the telecommunications industry. She has a proven track record of building successful organizations through transformational growth, particularly in the community broadband market. Wirsbinski currently serves as an independent director on the board of Somos Inc., a rapidly evolving technology company that serves as the administrator and registry for toll free numbers issued in North America. Wirsbinski was previously Chief Operating Officer of Hickory Tech Corporation/Enventis (now Consolidated Communications Inc., CCI), an integrated communication service provider. Under Wirsbinski’s leadership, Hickory Tech/Enventis doubled its revenue and transformed into a leading provider of carrier and commercial business in the Midwest. Wirsbinski also served as Chief Sales Officer of Consolidated Communications, where she led commercial and carrier sales.

Wirsbinski holds a Bachelor of Business Administration with concentration in marketing from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. She is an active member of the National Association of Corporate Directors, NACD and the Private Directors Association (PDA).