- European backbone and subsea cable operator names Giancarlo Ferro as its new finance chief.
- Outgoing CFO Katherine Alexakis to collaborate with Ferro to ensure smooth transition.
- CEO Marisa Trisolino says Ferro will play a “key role” in European expansion plans.
- The CFO is the latest in a series of management changes at euNetworks, following Paula Cogan’s departure in 2023.
European backbone operator euNetworks has appointed Giancarlo Ferro as Chief Financial Officer, with a mandate to help manage expansion of its regional infra portfolio.
The move, effective 23 March 2026, will see Ferro manage the provider’s financial strategy from its headquarters in London.
He last worked at European subsea cable rival FLAG as Chief Information Officer and Chief of Staff. The business has yet to name his replacement.
Ferro succeeds Katherine Alexakis, who is departing from euNetworks, but has not disclosed further details on her future plans. Marisa Trisolino, Chief Executive at euNetworks, said that Alexakis will work closely with Ferro to ensure a smooth leadership transition.
Prior to his double role at FLAG, Ferro held a series of senior financial management positions at other infra players, including as interim CFO at Global Cloud Xchange — the business from which FLAG separated in April 2025. Other finance roles that he has previously held include:
- Portfolio Finance Director at outsourcer and professional services provider Capita.
- CFO of Business Transformation and CFO of Finance & Business Operations for Europe Network Services at digital infrastructure services provider Colt Technology Services.
- CFO at technology recruitment business Hatch.
Ferro to drive European expansion plans
Trisolino indicated that Ferro’s financial leadership experience will play a “key role” in euNetworks’ plan to invest in further expansion of its European networks.
At present, the business operates a network combining a long-haul inter-city network linking 17 European markets and “high density” metropolitan fibre networks in 18 cities across the continent, as well as a data centre facility in Amsterdam and number of colocation sites in Germany.
It has been actively working to expand its footprint further, focusing on providing high-capacity fibre lines for cloud players and data centre operators.
To achieve this, it has raised significant financing over the past five years, including through a debt rework and recapitalisation in 2024, which saw investors inject €2.1bn into the business. Contributors included majority owner Stonepeak, as well as other investment groups APG Asset Management, IMCO, and Mercer.
Since then, euNetworks has delivered several new cables as part of its network, with a focus on urban centres in western Europe:
- A so-called “Super Highway” connecting the cities of Lille and Paris, which was launched in December 2024 as part of wider plans to deliver a fibre system connecting the cities to Belgium and the Netherlands.
- Two fibre routes connecting Frankfurt and Zurich, which it completed in October 2025. The provider noted the line connects to several submarine cable landings along the Mediterranean coast.
Ferro’s appointment comes following a couple of other C-suite changes seen at euNetworks over the past three years, following the departure of former CEO Paula Cogan in August 2024. Trisolino was named Cogan’s permanent replacement in April 2025.
Aside from Ferro and Trisolino’s moves, euNetworks has made two other management switch-ups since Cogan’s departure: Andrew Haynes’ appointment as Chief Digital & Technology Officer in 2024, and Nick Walden’s move to become Chief Revenue Officer in 2025.
| Leader | Role |
|---|---|
|
Note: * Giancarlo Ferro is set to replace Alexakis from 23 March 2026. Source: euNetworks. |
|
|
Marisa Trisolino |
CEO |
|
Katherine Alexakis * |
CFO |
|
Nick Walden |
CRO |
|
Andrew Haynes |
CDTO |
|
Andrew Holder |
Chief Operations Officer |
|
Richard Taylor |
General Counsel Chief Corporate Officer |
|
Toby Williams |
Chief Product Officer |
