Scott Hisey, who began his career as a cable-TV installer in Philadelphia in the late 1980s, is back after a difficult earlier run as a CEO., a 1,800-employee telecom infrastructure company, traded on Nasdaq on Tuesday for the first time when it merged with a special purpose acquisition company, or SPAC. The company’s symbol is QTEK. SPACs are an alternate route to the public markets compared with the more common initial public offering, or IPO. Hisey founded QualTek in 2012.
Several former UniTek executives followed Hisey to QualTek. Among them are Liz Downey, the chief administrative officer, and Mike Williams, the chief business officer. “It’s almost like a country music song. I got my company back. My management came back,” Hisey said. Other infrastructure companies include MasTec Inc. and Dycom Industries Inc., both based in Florida. UniTek Global is now based in Irving, Texas, and employs 750 at 80 locations, its web site says. UniTek could not be reached for immediate comment.