State President Mike Smith to step down in August; Beth Fastiggi is promoted
SOUTH BURLINGTON, Vt. (April 22, 2013) – FairPoint Communications, Inc., (NasdaqCM: FRP), a leading communications provider in northern New England, today announced that Vermont State President Mike Smith will leave the company in August and will be succeeded by Beth Fastiggi, FairPoint’s vice president of government relations for Vermont.
Smith joined FairPoint in January 2010 and led the company’s successful regulatory reform efforts in Vermont, which enabled the company to compete on a more level playing field and respond to the needs of the customers.
Smith provided focused leadership to the Vermont operations, from company’s reorganization to the nearly $80 million in broadband buildout across the state that has connected 90 percent of FairPoint’s Vermont markets with high-speed Internet.
“Mike’s efforts have been instrumental in transforming FairPoint into a leading communications provider in Vermont,” said CEO Paul Sunu. “He has helped the company adapt and excel with his determination, leadership and commitment to being the best.”
Smith, who has spent more than 30 years in the public and private sectors serving in government and executive positions, said he is confident FairPoint is positioned for continued growth.
“It has been a great honor to be a part of the FairPoint transformation during these past three years,” Smith said. “We continue to grow the business organically with excellent broadband and fiber products. And our employees are truly focused on our customers.”
“I am particularly proud of the way we responded during Tropical Storm Irene and how we took the initiative to warn our seniors as phone scammers tried to take their money,” Smith added.
Fastiggi, who replaces Smith in mid-August, has worked for FairPoint and before that Verizon and its predecessor companies for 26 years.
She has extensive technical and managerial experience in the telecommunications industry including positions in outside plant engineering, real estate, external relations and communications. She has a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a master’s degree in business administration from the University of Vermont. She also earned a certificate in corporate community relations from Boston College.
“As Vermont state president, Beth will continue to execute against the company plan that Mike put in place. Her extensive experience in telecommunications and her knowledge of the state will be instrumental in FairPoint’s continued success in Vermont,” said Peter Nixon, executive vice president of external affairs and operational support.
About FairPoint Communications, Inc.
FairPoint Communications, Inc. (NasdaqCM: FRP) is a leading communications provider of broadband Internet access, local and long-distance phone, television and other high-capacity data services to customers in communities across 17 states. Through its fast, reliable fiber network, FairPoint delivers high-quality data and voice networking communications solutions to residential, business and wholesale customers. FairPoint delivers Internet services through its resilient IP-based network in northern New England. This state-of-the-art fiber network provides carrier Ethernet connections to support the surging bandwidth and performance requirements for cloud-based applications like network storage, disaster recovery, distance learning, medical imaging, video conferencing and CAD/CAM along with traditional voice, VoIP, video and Internet access solutions. Additional information about FairPoint products and services is available at www.FairPoint.com. You can also connect with FairPoint on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/fairpoint), Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/myfairpoint) and LinkedIn (http://www.linkedin.com/company/fairpoint-communications).
Media Contact:
Sabina Haskell
802.658.7351
shaskell@fairpoint.com
PR Archives: Latest, By Company, By Date