Broadband Development Conference
Alvarez & Marsal, Managing Director
Nick Strauss is a Managing Director with Alvarez & Marsal in New York and leads the firm’s Telecommunications and Digital Infrastructure work. He advises internet service providers, state and local governments, investors and infrastructure stakeholders on broadband deployment, digital infrastructure development, operating strategy and public-private partnership models.
With more than 25 years of industry and consulting experience, Mr. Strauss has worked at the intersection of telecommunications, media, technology and infrastructure. His recent work includes helping ISPs and state broadband offices move from BEAD awards into execution, with a focus on operating-model design, construction management, deployment planning, financial controls, compliance, reimbursement readiness and long-term network sustainability. He also supports clients evaluating open-access networks, municipal and regional broadband platforms, middle-mile infrastructure, commercialization strategies and P3 financing and governance structures.
Prior to joining A&M, Mr. Strauss held senior technical, operational and consulting roles at IBM, Verizon and Deloitte. At IBM, he led the Cognitive Business Solutions service line, overseeing strategy, business development, solution delivery and global technology partnerships across artificial intelligence, cloud, data and analytics, and the Internet of Things. He also served as lead partner for major telecommunications and media clients, including Comcast and Viacom.
Previously, Mr. Strauss was a co-founder of Verizon Digital Media Services, the business unit responsible for delivering a significant share of global internet video traffic through content delivery, streaming, security and monetization services. He led the sales and customer operations organization supporting approximately $250 million in annual recurring revenue and directed a program that realized $30 million in acquisition synergies following Verizon’s purchase of Oath (AOL) and EdgeCast Networks.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Strauss advised the U.S. Department of Defense on critical infrastructure protection and worked with U.S. Pacific Island territories on economic development strategies designed to attract global telecommunications investment. He also led development efforts associated with the first submarine fiber network connecting the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands to global communications networks in the Asia-Pacific region.
Mr. Strauss earned a bachelor’s degree from the University at Buffalo and a Master of Public Administration in finance and management from The George Washington University.
As BEAD funding moves from awards to active construction, many of the most difficult challenges are only now emerging. This panel moves beyond policy and program design to focus on the realities of execution – what it actually takes to translate BEAD awards into deployed, compliant, and auditable broadband networks.
Panelists will share on-the-ground lessons from early deployment efforts, including permitting and environmental reviews, labor and supply-chain constraints, subcontractor management, and the growing complexity of state and federal reporting requirements. The discussion will also explore how gaps between construction activity, compliance documentation, and financial controls can lead to reimbursement delays, audit findings, or potential claw backs – and how leading teams are structuring governance and oversight to mitigate those risks in real time.
Designed for state broadband offices, ISPs, tribes, and delivery partners, this session offers a candid, practitioner-level view of what is working, what is slowing projects down, and how execution models are evolving as BEAD enters its most consequential phase.
