Executive Profiles

Sam Lanzafame
President & CEO

As President & CEO, Sam Lanzafame is the primary keeper of Datacom Systems' vision for innovation, quality, and commitment to its customers. Sam provides the company strategic direction, all while maintaining and maximizing the profitability of the company.  Under Sam's leadership, Datacom Systems has steadily grown and recently enjoyed a record year.

Sam joined Datacom Systems Inc. in January, 2005, bringing both Fortune 500 management experience and value-driven leadership. Sam brings over 30 years of executive management experience in overseeing the operations in both public and private companies, including Oneida Ltd. and The Cambridge Filter Corporation. 

Sam earned an MBA degree from The University of Notre Dame and a BA degree from Holy Cross. 

Sam serves on several corporate boards including The Alliance Financial Corporation.

Chris Koeneman
VP, Sales & Marketing

As Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Chris is responsible for global sales, marketing, business development, customer service, and product line management. Chris has over 20 years of leadership experience in the networking industry, working with public and private technology companies and selling complex solutions to both service provider and enterprise markets.

Chris started his career in technology in 1985 with AT&T, and in 1996 joined Cisco Systems where he led service provider sales in EMEA.  In 2001, Chris joined a Boston-based start-up, Celox Networks, to head up worldwide sales.  Following Celox, Chris was responsible for worldwide sales and customer service for Avici Systems.  Following Avici, Chris joined Colubris Networks which was acquired by HP in 2008.  Chris joined Datacom Systems from Redline Communications where he was Vice President of Worldwide Sales.

Chris holds a BA from Indiana University and an MBA from Georgia State University.

Gil Kaufman
VP, Engineering

As Vice President of Engineering, Gil is responsible for overseeing the engineering organization and development process while driving the company’s overall technical direction.  Gil has been leading high technology product development teams to increased productivity, control, and success for over 30 years. Gil's broad experience includes data, voice, video and web networking; management applications; software, hardware, and systems.

Gil began his engineering management career at Codex Corp., which was acquired by Motorola.  He worked with a broad range of networking and data communication technologies before becoming VP of Engineering at Xyplex which successfully went public in 1991.  Gil went on to lead Engineering at RAScom and Cayman Systems, before joining Cisco Systems where he successfully managed development for the Content Networking business unit.  Gil then joined BigBand Networks where he was Executive VP of R&D through a successful IPO in 2007.  Most recently, Gil was VP Engineering at Covergence - a VoIP Session Border Controller venture which was acquired by Acme Packet in 2009.

Gil holds a BSEE from Lehigh University and an MSEE from Purdue University.

George Brown
Controller

As Controller, George Brown is responsible for financial reporting, cash management, human resources, and all administrative functions within Datacom Systems. George has over 20 years of financial management experience.

George started his career with Store 24 located in Waltham, MA. In 1987, George joined TelPlus Communications which was acquired by NEC Business Communications in 1989. After 12 years as NEC's Accounting Manager, George joined BD Footwear Associates as Controller and VP of Operations, where he successfully managed the company's finances and operations until joining Datacom in 2005.

George holds a Bachelor's Degree from SUNY Cortland.