LoRa Alliance names new CEO & Board Chair for growth

The LoRa Alliance has announced key leadership appointments, naming Alper Yegin as Chief Executive Officer and Olivier Beaujard as Board Chair, as it gears up for a new phase of enhancing the LoRaWAN standard in the internet of things ecosystem.

The appointments come as LoRaWAN, a low-power wide-area network standard, moves into a phase of global expansion, targeting massive IoT deployments. Alper Yegin assumes the CEO role, bringing years of experience with the Alliance where he has previously served as Chair of the Technical Committee and Vice Chair. His experience extends to various high-profile roles in wireless communications standards organisations.

Rich Sanders from ZENNER, speaking on behalf of the search committee, stated, "As we conducted our search, we looked for a leader with the skills and experience to guide the Alliance as LoRaWAN hyperscaling accelerates. Alper stood out among the candidates due to his strong contributions to the development of LoRaWAN technology and deep knowledge of the market and customer requirements." Sanders added confidence in Alper's ability to guide the Alliance through this rapid growth phase.

Yegin highlighted his readiness to embrace the upcoming challenges, stating, "Through my position at Actility, where I was intimately involved in LoRaWAN technology and new product development, marketing, business development and hands-on deployment support—and my active leadership role in the Alliance over the past eight years—I am ready to embrace the challenges and opportunities facing us as we enter this new phase." He expressed his belief in LoRaWAN as the strongest LPWAN technology in the market.

The LoRa Alliance has also restructured its operations by separating the roles of CEO and Board Chair, a move aimed at improving efficiency and accountability. Olivier Beaujard has been elected as Board Chair, marking his first one-year term in this position. Beaujard said, "I feel honored to become Board Chair of the LoRa Alliance, and I am eager to closely collaborate with Alper to bring the LoRa Alliance and its strong ecosystem to the next level."

Furthermore, Birdz's Ahmed Kasttet has joined the Board of Directors. His extensive experience includes operating radio networks and enabling key utility operations, making him a pivotal addition to the Board. "The LoRaWAN market is significant and strong growth is expected for unlicensed spectrum technologies," Kasttet noted, adding that joining the Board provides an opportunity to bring the perspective of end-device manufacturers and utilities into the Alliance's leadership.

Yegin also commented on the value of Kasttet's contributions, stating, "The Board of Directors looks forward to Ahmed's contributions to the Alliance at the Board level, as he represents a critical sector for LoRaWAN deployments. Birdz's deployments and successes serve as a gold standard use case."