Michael S. Fox President
Michael S. Fox, Founding principal and owner, Fox Management Advisors, LLC (FMA). Mr. Fox’s primary responsibilities at FMA are overall firm management as well as primary client relations and project management. FMA works with clients both in the United States and abroad on economic development, strategic planning, business planning, technology opportunities, and related projects. Mr. Fox has also been the GM/CEO of two full-service telecommunications firms offering voice, video, data, wireless, and transport services. Mr. Fox has taken this real-world management experience and applies this to the benefit of his clients.
Throughout his career, Mr. Fox has assisted numerous companies on various regulatory, strategic planning, policy and business management aspects of the telecommunications industry. This includes working directly with the companies as they navigate the changing telecommunications landscape. Mr. Fox has been particularly active in supporting telephone companies in the evolving regulatory scene, including representing them on industry committees designed to preserve and protect access and universal service revenues.
Mr. Fox has testified before regulatory commissions in various proceedings in numerous states. In addition, he has represented telephone companies in formal and informal proceedings before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). He has also represented (including expert testimony) telephone companies before state commissions on various regulatory issues, including alternative regulation initiatives, authorized rates of return (return on equity return on total rate base and cost of capital considerations), capital recovery considerations, local and access rate design, new and enhanced regulated and non-regulated service offerings, and rate case planning.
Mr. Fox received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Economy from the University of Wyoming in 1979, graduating summa cum laude. In 1981, he received a Master of Arts degree in Economics, also from the University of Wyoming. Some of Mr. Fox’s specific areas of expertise and experience include, but are not limited to, the following:
Financial business plans: Mr. Fox has participated in or developed numerous business plans for both clients in both the United States and abroad. These business plans include evaluating business opportunities associated with launching new businesses or growing existing lines of business. Specific examples include numerous telecommunications related businesses, data center operations, state-wide fiber optic networks, ancillary business opportunities and mergers and acquisition analysis. One particularly interesting project conducting a thorough business case and financial plan for a national fiber optics network in Rwanda, Africa. This then led to Mr. Fox being asked to remain in country as Chief Financial Officer and Strategic Advisor to the CEO for the company that the Government of Rwanda established to build and manage this network.
State-wide fiber optic networks: From 2008 through June of 2010, Mr. Fox served on the board of Vision Net, a Montana-based company offering state-wide fiber optic, transport, network monitoring and related services throughout and beyond Montana. Also, while serving as Vice President / General Manager of ACT, Mr. Fox directly guided the planning and expansion of the company’s fiber optic and related facilities which resulted in a doubling of the firm’s transport revenues from 2008 to 2009. Mr. Fox also assisted a number of clients in evaluating and growing similar state-wide networks over his career.
Economic Development: Mr. Fox has served on two economic development boards in recent years – Forward Sheridan and the Downtown Sheridan Association. In addition to that experience, Mr. Fox has worked closely with several communities to help them evaluate economic opportunities in light of changes in technology and other related developments.
Strategic Planning: Mr. Fox has worked on numerous strategic planning projects for both large and small organizations. The strategic planning process is often confused with tactical implementation. While both processes are important, true strategic planning needs to be addressed separately from any implementation plan in order for it to be effective. Mr. Fox has both guided and participated in numerous strategic planning projects for on behalf of clients and firms he has worked for during the course of his career.
Public Policy: Mr. Fox is an acknowledged expert in public policy matters and working with both public and private entities. Many projects today are of such scope and scale that it is impossible for a single private entity to take on the entire project. A good example of this is the current effort to address the fact that the United States currently lags behind most other developed nations with respect to broadband usage and deployment. If the United States is to improve upon this standing, it will require the joint efforts of both public and private entities; much like the railroads of the 1800s required a joint public-private effort. Mr. Fox has the expertise and skills to work with both private and public entities in this and other related matters.
Project Management: Mr. Fox has detailed project management experience working with both large and small organizations. Effective project management is typically accomplished with close attention to detail. Mr. Fox has managed a large IT department evaluation and reorganization on behalf of a client as well as implementing professional project management techniques both on behalf of consulting clients and while service as GM/CEO of two separate companies.