TPx CEO Retiring: Company Appoints Former Lumen CMO

Rick Mace is stepping down from his role as CEO of TPx Communications, and longtime CenturyLink/Lumen leader Shaun Andrews is taking his place.

Mace will focus on his board of directors role and help Andrews get settled as TPx CEO. TPx, which provides managed services for network, cybersecurity and cloud technology, announced the leadership transition on Monday.

Mace was the leader of TPx, No. 9 on the 2023 Channel Futures MSP 501, for two-and-a-half years.

Andrews was working as Lumen's executive vice president and chief marketing officer until spring of 2023.

Mace praised Andrew's business acumen.

"It has been an incredible honor to lead TPx over the past few years and I am immensely proud of our team's work to upgrade our technology infrastructure to deliver best-in-class solutions to our customers," said Mace. "Shaun's leadership skills, industry expertise and experience supporting midmarket and SMB customers make him the perfect candidate to lead TPx as we work to cement our market identity and fully implement our portfolio strategy to drive growth."

TPx's Rick Mace

Mace's career leading telecommunication companies stretched back 30 years.

He also served as CEO for PGi (2020-2021), Transaction Network Services (2014), Packet Exchange (2008-2011), Steleus, PakNext and Network Programs.

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Who Is the New TPx CEO?

The reason TPx picked Andrews?: The company said his background as an operator and knowledge of managed services impressed them.

Andrews has spent about 20 years working at CenturyLink-affiliated companies. He initially came to Level 3 Communications through WilTel and ended his run as vice president of commercial services for Level 3.

After a short break serving as general manager of IntelePeer, he returned to Level 3, which CenturyLink bought in 2017. Andrews worked as executive vice president of product management at the combined company from 2017-2019.

TPx's Shaun Andrews

Andrews took on the chief marketing officer job for CenturyLink and helped the company rebrand its enterprise business to Lumen Technologies.

TPx itself likes a good rebrand. The California-based company formerly was known as TelePacific before shifting its identity in 2017 from a CLEC to a managed services provider for various technologies.

"Shaun not only has significant experience in the managed service space, but also is a strong operator capable of driving transformation efforts in companies and teams. I am confident that he is the right leader for TPx's next chapter," said Bret Griess, a director on the TPx Board. "I sincerely thank Rick for his leadership over the past several years as he built on our position as a best-in-class, nationwide managed service provider and further enhanced the experience of our more than 15,000 customers."

Andrews had kind things to say about TPx as well.

"I have long admired TPx's customer-centric approach to addressing the complex IT needs of the businesses that depend on TPx for business continuity and critical services," he said. "I am excited to step into this role at a pivotal moment in TPx's growth trajectory and partner with the team to further strengthen the company's offerings and processes for the benefit of its customers."

In recent news, DSCI founder James Maloney now works as president at TPx competitor Telesystem. TelePacific bought DSCI in 2016.