Roger Blake was selected to be the new president and CEO of Ann Arbor-based Merit Network Inc., a provider of IT solutions to Michigan’s public universities, schools, libraries, state government, health care, and other non-profit organizations.
Melissa Woo, executive vice president for administration and chief information officer at Michigan State University; and Josh Olson, chief information officer at Michigan Technological University, announced his selection.
They are co-chairs of the search committee, and chair and vice-chair of Merit’s board of directors. Blake was area vice president of government and education at AT&T prior to joining his current company, Palo Alto Networks. Blake will join Merit on July 3.
“The importance of reliable and secure network connectivity as a difference maker in people’s lives has never been so clear,” says Blake. “Bandwidth drives opportunity. Enabling connections for Merit community members that create possibilities to impact economic, health, and educational outcomes across Michigan is not just a job, but a calling, and I am excited to get started.”
He served in support of strategic infrastructure initiatives with public and private sector entities across Michigan and other states. Blake is also the current president of the Berkley Schools board of education and as a publicly elected school board trustee.
