Ms. Cochran is a Principal and Co-Founder of Vertical Systems Group. Her expertise covers Carrier Ethernet, Layer 2/Layer 3 services, SD-WAN, business Fiber deployments, Cloud and Data Center connectivity, legacy services migration trends and SDN/NFV/LSO solutions.

Since founding the company, Ms. Cochran has worked with network service providers, equipment vendors, financial entities, large enterprises and industry organizations. She directs the firm’s custom client engagements and go-to-market projects, which includes executive briefings, strategic plan reviews, market opportunity assessments, primary research studies and due diligence for mergers/acquisitions.

Ms. Cochran is frequently sourced by media for her insight on business networking trends, service migration drivers, industry consolidation and the market outlook for emerging technologies. She speaks at industry forums and conferences on these topics and has authored articles for major publications. Ms. Cochran is on the advisory board of the MEF and participates on the judging panel for the MEF’s Awards. Ms. Cochran was chosen by Fierce Telecom as one of the top ten Women in Wireline. She has also been recognized among the 25 Unsung Heroes of the Internet.

Prior to founding Vertical Systems Group, Ms. Cochran was marketing director at a venture-funded network equipment company. Her prior experience includes technical and sales management positions at several technology firms.