April 14, 2008
FiberTower Names Kurt Van Wagenen as President
and CEO
San Francisco, CA., April 14, 2008 – FiberTower
Corporation (NASDAQ: FTWR), a wireless backhaul services provider,
announced today that its board of directors has appointed Kurt
Van Wagenen as President and Chief Executive Officer effective
immediately. Van Wagenen was also elected to FiberTower’s
board of directors. Van Wagenen previously served as President
and CEO of NEON Communications Group, Inc. (“NEON”),
a facilities-based wholesale communications provider that supplies
carrier and enterprise customers with high bandwidth fiber optic
capacity.
“We are pleased to announce Kurt's appointment, which follows
a rigorous selection process by the board of directors,"
said John Beletic, FiberTower’s Chairman. “He has
an impressive track record in both operations and business development,
strong financial acumen and a background in engineering. We believe
that the Company will deliver outstanding results and build shareholder
value under his leadership.”
“I am very excited about the opportunity to lead FiberTower,”
Van Wagenen said. “After spending a number of years operating
in the fiber industry, I fully believe that FiberTower’s
model of delivering wireless backhaul services using a hybrid
microwave - fiber solution will become more compelling for carriers
over the next few years.”
Van Wagenen was President and CEO of NEON (formerly Globix Corporation)
from January of 2007 until November of 2007, when NEON was acquired
by RCN Corporation. Prior to being appointed CEO of NEON, he served
as President and Chief Operating Officer of Globix Corporation
after being promoted from his prior position as Chief Operating
Officer of Globix Corporation’s Network Services division.
Van Wagenen also served as Vice President of Network and Operations
for NEON Communications from 2001 until the merger of NEON and
Globix in 2005. Before joining NEON in 2001, Van Wagenen was employed
by Verizon Communications and its various predecessors in diverse
positions of increasing responsibility, where he commenced his
employment in 1986.
Van Wagenen earned an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and
also holds a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute. He is also a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Beletic also expressed gratitude to Thomas Scott, FiberTower’s
Chief Financial Officer, and Ravi Potharlanka, the Company’s
Chief Operating Officer, who led the Company on an interim basis
as Co-Presidents for the last three months. “The Board and
the Company’s employees are deeply appreciative of the continuing
commitment, energy and teamwork exhibited by Tom and Ravi in their
leadership. They guided us through the transition superbly, and
we are indebted to them for the success of the Company during
this transition period.”
About FiberTower Corporation
FiberTower is a backhaul and access services provider focused
primarily on the wireless carrier market. With its extensive spectrum
footprint in 24 GHz and 39 GHz bands, carrier-class microwave
and fiber networks in 13 major markets, customer commitments from
six of the leading cellular carriers, and partnerships with the
largest tower operators in the U.S, FiberTower is considered to
be the leading alternative carrier for wireless backhaul. FiberTower
also provides backhaul and access service to government and enterprise
markets. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.fibertower.com.
Company Contact:
Ornella Napolitano, VP and Treasurer
FiberTower Corporation
(202) 251-5210
onapolitano@fibertower.com
Investor Contact:
Gus Okwu / DRG&E
404-532-0086
gokwu@drg-e.com
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