R. Craig Smith
Chairman, CEO, and President
Mr. Smith took the helm of IQUE Partners in October 2009 as Chairman, CEO, and President. From the start Mr. Smith introduced a product lineup of exemplary services that include IP Bandwidth and Transport, Long Distance, Operator Services, ISP Back Office Products, SIP Services, Open source PBX and hosted VoIP, Telecom Consulting, and IP Talent Registry that includes Network Audits, Grooming, Software and Hardware selection to optimize networks for reliability. IQUE Partners also offers Cisco SmartNet contract renewals. Mr. Smith has been involved in the independent telephone space from birth. His father Mr. L. Ronald Smith started a small phone company serving Mountain Grove, Williamsville, and McDowell, Virginia. The company has outgrown its original name Mountain Grove – Williamsville Telephone Company and is known today as MGW Communications. Located in Williamsville, Virginia, MGW provides services to the areas of Augusta, Bath, and Highland with exchanges in McDowell, McClung, Mountain Grove, Doe Hill, Burnsville, Williamsville, and Deerfield.
As well as his duties with IQUE Partners, Craig serves as the CEO and President for MGW Networks and MGW Long Distance. With his knowledge of the independent space, IQUE Partners in conjunction with MGW Networks and Farmers Telephone Cooperative (FTC), the 3rd largest Telephone Cooperative in the United States, has opened a world-class high-end 1st-level and advanced-level tech support center in Deerfield, Virginia. This Support Center operates tech support for IP and IPTV year round, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. IQUE Partners offers its customers a friendly hometown voice and a true redundant full service call center for backup in case of disaster.
Mr. Smith has served on numerous boards and is the past President of the VTIA. He is a graduate of Radford University.
David O. Johnson
Executive Vice President – Business Development and Strategy
Mr. Johnson has been involved in the telecommunications industry for over forty years. Over half of that he has spent working with independent telephone companies, either as an employee or a vendor/consultant. He began his career with Horry Telephone Cooperative in Conway, South Carolina. After three years with Horry Telephone Cooperative he was drafted into the US Army. After a short but strong career in the US Army, he was released to the Army Reserves with the rank of First Lieutenant and returned to Horry Telephone to work in accounting. He achieved his undergraduate degree at the University of South Carolina in 1971 while working in the Accounting Department at Southern Bell. Also, while working in the Bell System, in 1979 David completed the Advanced Information Systems and Services Program at Cambridge, Massachusetts (taught by a cadre of Professors from MIT). He left the Bell System in 1984 to get involved in his first start-up. When that venture became a part of Telecom*USA, he worked in Business Development at Telecom*USA and later in Independent Telco Relations and Corporate Finance at MCI. He has been involved in both start-up companies and major corporations and has gained experience in voice, data communications (including voice over IP) and video services having worked in a top-25 cable MSO following the sale of his last start-up in 1998 to that cable MSO. His last assignment was as the Director of Wholesale Services for Spirit Telecom, a South Carolina company. In that role, though the product line was limited, he consistently demonstrated a passion for serving rural companies and their affiliates, assuring that they receive the full measure of value from their investment in support services.
Mr. Johnson also works as a liaison with independent telephone companies and broadband companies who provision services for our clients.