Teresa Elder, president of strategic partnerships and wholesale, Clearwire

The WiMAX trumpets have been drowned out of late by the chorus of approval for LTE but the ‘other 4G technology’ has not disappeared. Clearwire is the poster child for the WiMAX campaign and Teresa Elder, a former Vodafone executive like her Clearwire boss Bill Morrow, has a key role in the company.

WiMAX has been positioned to appeal in particular to fixed broadband providers looking for a wireless offering to supplement their existing service. A coterie of such players provide the backing for Clearwire and Elder is responsible for ensuring that their ability to offer WiMAX services on the Clearwire network goes uninterrupted and that they remain happy with the arrangement. It is a significant part of the overall burden of proof for WiMAX that sits on Clearwire’s shoulders.

Clearwire closed the first quarter of this year with 971,000 subscribers, up 94 per cent year on year. The firm added 283,000 subscribers in Q1, a larger total than it managed in 2009 as a whole. First quarter revenue was up 72 per cent year on year to $107m Elder joined Clearwire from Vodafone Ireland, where she was CEO. Prior to this she was president, West, for AT&T Broadband, which is now part of Comcast, one of the key Clearwire backers.

Elder holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Creighton University, and a master’s in management from Stanford University.