# George O'Neal

> George O'Neal is the president and CEO of Aureon, the West Des Moines technology-services company owned by independent Iowa telecommunications companies. A West Point mechanical-engineering graduate and former U.S. Army second lieutenant, he spent nearly three decades in telecommunications, including 18 years leading network services at GVTC Communications. There he helped replace copper with fiber across more than 80,000 rooftops and managed more than $350 million in capital spending. Since taking Aureon's top job in January 2025, he has pursued a 'One Aureon' strategy that brings connectivity, managed IT, consulting, and contact-center services under one operating idea.

- **Role:** President and CEO at Aureon
- **Organizations:** Aureon, GVTC Communications, Alltel, SBC Communications / AT&T, United States Army, Fiber Broadband Association
- **Education:** Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, United States Military Academy at West Point
- **Known for:** Led GVTC's copper-to-fiber transformation, extending fiber to more than 80,000 rooftops., Designed and managed a brownfield fiber-to-the-home overbuild covering more than 40,000 rooftops., Managed more than $350 million in capital spending at GVTC.

## Career timeline

- **After college** — Served in the U.S. Army as a second lieutenant after graduating from West Point.
- **1995-1999** — Worked at SBC Communications and participated in its Leadership Development Program.
- **1999-2006** — Held network-management positions at Alltel.
- **2006-2024** — Served for 18 years as vice president of network services at GVTC Communications, leading planning, engineering, operations, and major fiber transformation work.
- **2012** — Was re-elected to the Fiber-to-the-Home Council board of directors; he also served the organization as treasurer.
- **2020-03** — GVTC Fiber ranked first in the United States and third worldwide on the Netflix ISP Speed Index.
- **2025-01-13** — Became president and CEO of Aureon, succeeding Scott Behn.
- **2025-06** — Realigned Aureon's executive team around operations, transformation, and revenue as part of the One Aureon strategy.
- **2026-05** — Aureon announced a 100-terabit long-haul route from Ellendale, North Dakota, to Chicago, designed to scale to 400 terabits.

## Achievements

- Led GVTC's copper-to-fiber transformation, extending fiber to more than 80,000 rooftops.
- Designed and managed a brownfield fiber-to-the-home overbuild covering more than 40,000 rooftops.
- Managed more than $350 million in capital spending at GVTC.
- Helped GVTC Fiber reach first place in the United States and third worldwide on the March 2020 Netflix ISP Speed Index.
- Served as a director and treasurer of the Fiber Broadband Association, formerly the Fiber-to-the-Home Council.
- Was named Best CEO in the community-voted 2025 Best of the West Awards while Aureon also won three company categories.

## Latest updates

- **2026-05** — Aureon announced a 100-terabit Midwest transport route, engineered to support AI and cloud deployments and designed to scale to 400 terabits.
- **2026-05** — Aureon awarded $12,000 in scholarships to nine Iowa students; O'Neal connected the investment to the future of Iowa's technology workforce.
- **2025-11** — O'Neal received the community-voted Best CEO honor in the West Des Moines Chamber's Best of the West Awards; Aureon also won for customer experience, internet provider, and technology group.
- **2025-09** — Aureon launched Ascend for Teams, a unified communications and contact-center platform intended to reduce technology complexity for business customers.
- **2025-06** — O'Neal reorganized Aureon's leadership structure to integrate network services, consulting, and contact-center operations.

## Links

- Website: https://aureon.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/george-a-o-neal-aa059510
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odkw3lifdGI

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/george-oneal
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-09-27