Investor Relations

   

Investor Relations

 

Experienced and Proven Senior

Management Team

The Company’s team of Directors, sernior executies and operating managers has significant experience in the communications industry and extensive knowledge of its local markets. Members of the Company’s executive management team have over 70 years of experience in managing communications companies. In addition to industry knowledge, the Company’s management team has public company operational experience and expertise in integrating acquired facilities.

Directors

Theodore V. Boyd is the Non-Executive Chairman of the Company and an investor in McKinley Communications, Inc. (“McKinley”), the majority investor McKinley prior to the completion of the sale of its ownership interest to First Communications. Mr. Boyd is also General Partner of Rockledge T. Limited Partnership, a private investment holding company, and General Partner in Willmoll Development Company, a developer and owner of commercial, industrial, multi-tenant residential and single family residential real estate. Mr. Boyd has served as a director of Belden and Blake Corporation, an oil and gas exploration and production company, formerly quoted on NASDAQ, prior to its sale to Texas Pacific Group Partners, as Chairman of SKYLan, Ltd., a wireless internet service provider that was acquired by the Company, and as Chairman of Beaverkettle Company Inc., a radio broadcasting company, until its sale to Next Media, Inc. Mr. Boyd is a Director of the Professional Football Hall of Fame and the Northeastern Ohio Council on Higher Education and was Chairman of the Kent State University Board of Trustees. He received a Bachelor of Arts in History from Bethany College and a Juris Doctorate in Law from Cleveland State University.

Raymond Hexamer Mr. Hexamer joined the Company in January 2005 as the Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Hexamer was previously President and General Manager of WHBC Radio and was involved over the years in all aspects of that business from on-air, sales, finance and management. Mr. Hexamer was a part of the investment group and CEO of SkyLAN, a wireless Internet provider, whose assets were acquired by the Company. Radio Ink Magazine named Mr. Hexamer as one of the top five-presidents/general managers nationally in 2002 and top seven in 2003. Mr. Hexamer is involved in numerous community boards and was the 2001 General Chairman of The Professional Football Hall of Fame Festival. Mr. Hexamer holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from the University of Akron.

Joseph Morris is the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer of the Company. He has held leadership positions in every department of the Company over the last ten years and has also been the lead participant for the Company in the identification, negotiation and integration of its nine acquisitions since 2004. Mr. Morris is also responsible for all legal affairs and setting regulatory strategy and direction for the Company. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Morris was an attorney Roetzel & Andress, L.P.A. with a practice focused on public, corporate and international law. Mr. Morris studied Economics at Queens University of Belfast, received a Bachelor of Arts from Franciscan University and a Juris Doctorate (with honors) from the University of Akron.

Marshall B. Belden Jr. is a 1969 graduate of the Colorado School of Mines and is a petroleum engineer.  He was associated with MB Operating Co., Inc, a family owned oil & gas exploration and development company beginning in 1970.  He was elected President of the company in 1978 and Chairman of the Board in 1995.  He also served as Chairman of Marbel Energy Corporation from its inception in 1995.  In 1998 the family energy business was sold.  Since that time he has been active in restoration of historic real estate and antique & collectable automobiles as well as other family business and charitable activities.  He is employed by McBel Trust, overseeing family investments including McKinley Communications LLC.

H. Arthur Bellows, Jr. is a Non-Executive Director of the Company and an investor in McKinley Communications, Inc. Mr. Bellows is also the Chairman of Braeburn Associates (a private holding personal investment company), and Chairman of The Finance Network, LLC (a private financial services firm). Recent professional experience and positions include founder, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Triangle Corporation; Director, Hexcel Corporation; Director, Beacon Roofing Supply, Inc.; President and Director of Audits & Surveys Worldwide, Inc. Mr. Bellows is also a past President of the Board of Trustees of the Western Reserve Academy, Hudson, Ohio and Chairman of the Board of Governors of the University Cottage Club. Mr. Bellow received a B.A. in Political Science from Princeton University and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.

Mark T. Clark is a Non-Executive Director of the Company. Mr. Clark is also Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning & Operations of and a member of the Executive Council of FirstEnergy Corp., the fifth largest electric utility in the US. Mr. Clark is responsible for FirstEnergy’s Business Development and Performance Group, Rates and Regulatory Affairs, Information Technology, Supply Chains, Security, Marketing and Sales and Strategic Planning. Mr. Clark previously served as Chairman of the Company. Mr. Clark graduated from The Ohio State University in 1973 with a Bachelor of Science degree and earned a MBA from The University of Akron in 1978. Mr. Clark also completed the Program for Management Development at the Harvard Business School in 1985. Mr. Clark is on the board of The First Tee of Akron, is on the Champions Council for the Bridgestone World Series of Golf. Mr. Clark is also past president of Portage Country Club, board member of the Akron Area Automobile Association and YMCA Foundation. His past board affiliations include Child Guidance and Family Solutions (formerly Akron Child Guidance), the Better Business Bureau, the YMCA and Junior Achievement.

Scott M. Honour is a Non-Executive Director of the Company. Mr. Honour is responsible for originating and structuring transactions and pursuing strategic initiatives at The Gores Group, LLC. Prior to joining Gores in 2002, Mr. Honour led a career as an investment banker with a focus on creating, structuring, financing and executing financial sponsor-led transactions. From 2001 to 2002, Mr. Honour served as a Managing Director at UBS AG Warburg, where he was responsible for relationships with technology-focused financial sponsors, including Gores, and created the firm's Transaction Development Group, which brought transaction ideas to financial sponsors, including Gores. Prior to joining UBS Warburg, Mr. Honour was an investment banker at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, Inc. where he executed a variety of mergers and acquisitions, high yield financings, equity offerings and restructuring assignments. Mr. Honour also served as a Vice President in DLJ's Merchant Banking Group from 1995 to 1997. Prior to joining DLJ, Mr. Honour served as an analyst at Trammell Crow Company. Mr. Honour earned his B.S. in Business Administration and B.A. in Economics, cum laude, from Pepperdine University, and his M.B.A. from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania with an emphasis in finance and marketing.

Mark R. Stone is a Non-Executive Director of the Company. Mr. Stone is responsible for Gores' worldwide operations group, oversight of all Gores portfolio companies and operational due diligence efforts. Mr. Stone joined Gores in 2005 from Sentient Jet, Inc., the leading provider of private jet membership and three-time recipient of the Robb Report's "Best of the Best in Travel Services" distinction, where he served as CEO. Prior to Sentient Jet, Mr. Stone served as CEO of Narus, Inc., a global telecommunication software company and Sentex Systems, Ltd., an international security and access control manufacturing company. Mr. Stone was Corporate General Manager of Citysearch, Inc. (now an operating business of IAC/InterActiveCorp, NASDAQ: IACI), a multi-billion dollar new media organization. Mr. Stone spent five years with the Boston Consulting Group, a global strategy and operations consulting firm, as a member of their high technology and industrial goods practices—serving in BCG's Boston, London, Los Angeles and Seoul, Korea offices. Mr. Stone holds an MBA in Finance and Multinational Management from The Wharton School and a B.S. in Finance with Computer Science and Mathematics concentrations from the University of Maine.

Key Management

Richard J. Buyens joined the company in May of 2008 as President of First Communications. Mr. Buyens was previously Executive Vice President of Sales at McLeodUSA from October, 2003 to February, 2008. The company focused on the SMB market and more than doubled its enterprise value concluding in the sale to PAETEC Communications. From 2001 until 2003, Mr. Buyens served as President of Global Services at Premiere Global Services, a worldwide provider of multimedia conferencing, collaboration, and advanced messaging services based in Atlanta, GA. From 1999 through 2001, he served as Senior Vice President of Sales and President of Shared Technology Fairchild at Intermedia Communications, an integrated data and voice communications services provider based in Tampa, Florida. From 1980 to 1998, he held various sales, marketing and finance positions at AT&T, including Sales Vice President for AT&T’s Mid Market Segment of over $1.4B in revenue and CFO for AT&T’s Commercial Market Division. Mr. Buyens completed his BS in Business Marketing in 1978 and MBA in Finance in 1980 from Northern Illinois University.

David Johnson is the Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing. Mr. Johnson holds a B.A. in Finance and a B.A. in Management, Magna Cum Laude from Walsh University. Prior to his employment with First Communications, Mr. Johnson worked at The Timken Bearing and Steel Company for five years. Mr. Johnson has been an active board member of Boy Scouts of America (Buckeye Council), The Chapel in North Canton, North Canton Little League and Youth Football.




Frank Lomanno is the Senior V.P. of Finance for the Company. Mr. Lomanno joined the Company in 1999. He has held positions as accounting manager, controller and director of finance and as temporary CFO. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Lomanno was with Miller, Miller, Haney and Davis CPA's and was the Corporate Accounting Manager for Forest City Enterprises (NYSE). At Forest City Enterprise, he was responsible for the preparation of the annual financial reports, along with assisting in the preparation of Form 10-Q and Form 10-K filings. Mr. Lomanno holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Dayton.

Jamie Rowlands joined First Communications in 2002 and is responsible for marketing and product development, including New Product Development. Prior to joining First Communications, Mr. Rowlands worked at Sprint Corporation and at FirstEnergy as Director of National Sales for 12 years. Mr. Rowlands holds an MBA from The Ohio State University and a B.S. in Business Administration in Business Administration from Miami University.




David Amis is the Senior Vice President of First Communications Wholesale Division. Mr. Amis founded the company Xtension and also worked in various leadership roles at GTE including Director of International Market Operations for GTE Telecom, Controller, Director of Marketing and Business Development, Director of National Carrier Sales and Chief Financial Officer of GTE Reinsurance Company. Mr. Amis holds an MBA degree from the University of North Carolina and a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from Louisiana State University. Mr. Amis is also a certified public accountant.


Rick Poore is the President of First Telecom Services, LLC a wholly owned subsidiary of First Communications, Inc. providing fiber optic and wireless infrastructure to telecommunications carriers and large private enterprise networks. Mr. Poore developed and operated similar companies, first for GPU and later for FirstEnergy, most recently as the General Manager & Director of FirstEnergy Telecom Services, Inc. Mr. Poore has a wealth of experience in leveraging Utility Infrastructure for use by the Telecommunications Industry. Mr. Poore has held various engineering and management positions in telecommunications and information services over his 35 years of experience. Mr. Poore earned a Bachelor of Engineering Technology from the State University of New York and is a graduate of Penn State’s Executive Development Program.