Siemon has announced the retirement of distinguished engineer, Valerie Maguire, BSEE, effective 30 June 2022, following more than 30 years of service to the company and industry.
Maguire began her Siemon career when structured cabling was still in its infancy, assembling connecting hardware on the production floor while pursuing her Bachelor of Engineering degree at the University of Connecticut. Since that time, Maguire has played an instrumental role in Siemon’s customer-focused innovation and advancing the industry. With expertise focused on balanced twisted-pair and optical fibre cabling and transmission, Maguire engineered solutions that raised the bar on the performance of 100-ohm balanced twisted-pair components in support of growing bandwidth needs. Her contributions included the integration of printed circuit boards with noise cancellation into outlets, test and qualification methods to ensure consistent patch cord modular plug terminations, and validation of the fundamental operation and performance of screened and shielded twisted-pair cabling. Her work resulted in the development of ground-breaking standards test methods and an industry patent.
Considered one of the industry’s foremost experts on standards, Maguire previously held positions as a Global Sales Engineer and Director of Standards and Technology for Siemon, where she melded her leadership roles within TIA, ISO/IEC, and IEEE industry standards bodies, with her technical expertise, to educate the global ICT community and provide support for both internal and external Siemon customers. She was appointed Liaison to IEEE 802.3 by the TIA TR- 42 Telecommunications Cabling Systems Engineering Committee and has held several leadership positions within the TIA-TR-42.7 Copper Cabling Subcommittee over eight two-year terms. She was also Treasurer of the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet Working Group, Secretary of the IEEE 802.3 Maintenance Task Force, and Editor for multiple IEEE 802.3 Ethernet projects, including serving as Chief Editor of the more recent IEEE Std 802.3cgTM 10Mb/s Single-Pair Ethernet (SPE) project.
“I consider myself extremely fortunate to have been able to dedicate my career to this amazing industry and contribute to the establishment of standards-based digital technologies that are now improving lives and increasing efficiencies around the world,” says Valerie. “Working alongside world-class transmission and subject matter experts to drive innovation, all with the support of my Siemon family, has truly been an honour. While I look forward to starting my next chapter, I hope to watch the company’s continued success for many years to come.” Maguire plans to spend her retirement enjoying her love of restoring antique copper cookware and her antique Volvo, as well as spending time with family and friends—of both the two-legged and four-legged persuasion.
Maguire is well-known throughout the industry for her keen ability to explain complex technologies to a wide variety of audiences, often sharing her knowledge at industry events around the world and authoring more than 50 technical articles and engineering papers. She was named one of Cabling Installation & Maintenance’s Top 20 Positive Contributors to the Cabling and Networking Industry, presented with the Harry J. Pfister Award for Excellence in Telecommunications, and received the inaugural TIA Top 2% Star Award for contribution to Telecommunications Standards development.
With regard to her impact on the company, John Siemon, Chief Technology Officer and Vice President of Operations said, “Valerie has been the sensei to our technical support group and to our customers. Every time she was involved in a project, it was a positive experience—our customers always walked away from a conversation with Val knowing more and being able to make informed decisions.”
“If I had to pick one word to describe Valerie’s character, it would be ‘integrity’,” said Carl Siemon, Chief Strategy Officer, and former President and CEO. “That, combined with her knowledge, built trust in and respect for her work. Valerie will be greatly missed, and we wish her the very best in her well-deserved retirement.”
