Teligent names John C. Wright, Ernst & Young partner, as chief financial officer
James V. Continenza of Lucent becomes senior vice president for operations
strategy.
Vienna, Va., September 8, 2000 - Teligent, a global leader in broadband
communications, today named John C. Wright, a partner in the Washington office
of Ernst & Young, as its new chief financial officer.
Wright, 52, is a 29-year E&Y veteran who has extensive experience in mergers and
acquisitions, international tax and finance, securities and regulatory matters.
For the past two years Wright has served as the senior Ernst & Young partner
managing the firm's relationship with Teligent.
"John has an intimate knowledge of our financial affairs, our business plan, our
internal operations and the Teligent team. We're delighted that he has accepted
our offer to join us as we move Teligent to the next phase of its development,"
said Teligent Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Alex J. Mandl.
A native of North Carolina, Wright has worked in Ernst & Young's Washington
office since 1987, most recently as a partner in the firm's Technology,
Communications and Entertainment Group. He originally joined Ernst & Young in
1971 in Charlotte, N.C.
Mandl also announced the appointment of James V. Continenza as senior vice
president for operations strategy. Continenza had been president and chief
executive officer of Lucent Technologies Product Finance.
In his 11 years at AT&T and Lucent, Continenza, 38, was promoted to increasingly
responsible positions with AT&T's small business division, Lucent's business
communications systems unit and Lucent Technologies Product Finance.
At Teligent, Continenza will work with the senior management team to improve
operations processes and help the company become more efficient and effective in
serving customers.
"Jim has a tremendous operational track record at Lucent, and I know he'll bring
great value to Teligent as we continue to streamline our operations and increase
our efficiency," Mandl said.
Mandl also announced that he will assume responsibility for Teligent's
operations, effective immediately, following the decision by Teligent President
and Chief Operating Officer Kirby G. "Buddy" Pickle to accept a position as
chief executive officer of PF.Net, a fiber backbone company.
"During the past 20 years, my corporate life has been spent in senior operations
roles at companies such as AT&T and Sea-Land Services, Inc., The world's leading
shipping company. Now I will assume that role at Teligent, effective
immediately, in addition to maintaining my responsibilities as chairman of the
board," Mandl said.
"As Teligent's first COO, Buddy Pickle played a key role in getting the company
up and running," Mandl added. "Together, we built our networks, installed our
back office systems, brought our first products to market and began serving our
first customers. As Buddy moves on to meet new challenges as a chief executive
officer, all of us at Teligent wish him the best."
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Reporting to Mandl in his new role are: Hamid Akhavan, senior vice president and
chief technology officer; Steve Bell, senior vice president for human resources;
Continenza, senior vice president for operations strategy; Aki Debayo-Doherty,
senior vice president, international; Larry Harris, senior vice president and
general counsel; Mike Kraft, senior vice president for marketing and investor
relations; Stan Manoogian, senior vice president for corporate development;
Susan Shook, senior vice president for customer operations; Robert Stewart,
senior vice president for communications; Bruce Wagner, senior vice president
for field operations; and Wright, senior vice president and chief financial
officer.
About Teligent
Based in Vienna, Virginia, Teligent, Inc. (Nasdaq: TGNT) is a global leader in
broadband communications offering business customers local, long distance,
high-speed data and dedicated Internet services over its digital SmartWave TM
local networks in 42 major markets throughout the United States. The company is
working with international partners to extend its reach into Europe, Asia and
Latin America. Teligent's offerings of regulated services are subject to all
applicable regulatory and tariff approvals. For more information, visit the
Teligent website at: www.teligent.com.
