Ashley Bates
Raleigh,NC
Summary
Forward-thinking telecom operations leader with a proven record of consolidating and scaling global telephony environments, reducing multimillion-dollar operating costs, and executing high-stakes migration programs across international infrastructures. Adept at strengthening compliance posture, driving vendor accountability, and guiding executive teams through financial, technical, and regulatory decision making.
Overview
6
6
years of professional experience
Work History
Telecom Analyst (Acting Telecom Operations Leader)
Datasite
09.2024 - Current
- Led global consolidation of telephony systems, improving reliability, stability, and enterprise-wide user experience while delivering significant reductions in operational spend and measurable revenue uplift.
- Directed executive-sponsored international modernization projects across AWS SCV, Five9, 8x8, AVOXI, and legacy ecosystems.
- Owned multimillion-dollar telecom OPEX, including forecasting, invoice governance, contract renewals, and vendor negotiations.
- Conducted technical forensics for legal, regulatory, and client-impact cases, strengthening compliance posture.
- Advised executives on telephony risk, long-term modernization strategy, and dependency mapping.
- Streamlined reporting processes, enhancing visibility of network performance metrics.
Unified Communications Network Engineer
Charter Communications
07.2022 - 09.2024
- Senior escalation engineer for VIP outages and enterprise-level UC issues impacting multiple regions.
- Three-time award-winning engineer (2020–2022) and first in company history promoted four levels upward.
- Eliminated long-term operational bottlenecks through cross-department workflow improvements.
- Supported multi-vendor UC ecosystems (Cisco, Ribbon, Adtran, Polycom, Panasonic).
Business Technical Back Operations Lead
Charter Communications
08.2019 - 07.2022
- Directed FCC, BBB, PUC, Attorney General, and Executive Office escalations requiring advanced telecom expertise.
- Led technical forensic investigations to support litigation defense, compliance validation, and risk mitigation.
- Managed multimillion-dollar infrastructure during outages and merger-related transitions.
- Authored SOPs and regulatory documentation adopted across multiple operational units.
- Implemented process improvements, resulting in increased efficiency and reduced operational costs.
Skills
- Various complex VoIP systems
- Cloud Platforms: AWS SCV, Five9, 8x8, AVOXI
- Specialties: SIP routing, global numbering strtategy, call-flow engineering, telecom forensics
- Network troubleshooting
- Telecom billing systems
- Network performance monitoring
- Vendor relationship management
- Cross-functional team collaboration
- Telecom expense management
CORE EXECUTIVE COMPETENCIES
- Enterprise Telephony Strategy & Roadmapping
- Global Infrastructure Consolidation & Modernization
- P&L Impact: Cost Reduction, Forecasting & Budget Ownership
- Vendor Management, Contract Negotiation & SLA Governance
- Regulatory Compliance, Legal Investigations & Risk Mitigation
- Executive-Level Stakeholder Management & Alignment
- International Telephony Migration Leadership
- UC Architecture including overall network infrastructure, SIP Routing, Call-Flow Engineering
Timeline
Telecom Analyst (Acting Telecom Operations Leader)
Datasite
09.2024 - Current
Unified Communications Network Engineer
Charter Communications
07.2022 - 09.2024
Business Technical Back Operations Lead
Charter Communications
08.2019 - 07.2022