DENVER, COLO., - November 28, 2005 -- The Denver Telecom
Professionals (DTP) organization today announced it has named four finalist
for its 2005 Executive of the Year award. The finalists are Scott Binder, Senior
Vice President, Comcast Colorado; Jim Crowe, Chairman and CEO, Level3; Rich
Grange, President and CEO, New Global Telecom; and Oren Shaffer, Vice Chairman
and CFO, Qwest Communications.
“We are pleased with the selection of our members and associates.” said Sue
Wyman, 2005 president of the Denver Telecom Professionals. “These leaders well
represent Colorado’s leading communications companies and the rich diversity
of technology solutions and services both in Colorado and nationally.”
The DTP executive board will select a winner based on the following criteria:
1) the candidate must exhibit exceptional leadership in these areas: (a) financial,
(b) human resources, (c) ethics, and (d) vision; 2) the candidate must have
made a meaningful impact on the communications industry; 3) the candidate and
his firm must have a significant presence in Denver; and 4) the candidate should
be actively involved in community affairs.
Executive board members include Randy Curran, ITC DeltaCom; Gary Gaessler,
Trillion; George Heinrichs, Intrado; Larissa Herda, Time Warner Telecom; Steve
Hubbard, Daniels & Associates; Kristy Lyne, Jefferson Wells; Travis Mitchell,
Allegro; Keith Molony, Level3 Communications; Richard Notebaert, Qwest Communications;
Stephanie Smeltzer McCoy, Meritage Private Equity Funds; Gregg Sutherland, Ernst
& Young; Lucy Vento, Quinsight; Phil Weiser, University of Colorado Silicon
Flatirons Telecommunications Law Program, Sue Wyman, Jivaro Group; Art Zeile;
and Kelly Zunker, Genesys Communications Laboratories.
The winner will be announced in early December and the event will be held at
the Brown Palace in March.
Scott Binder, Senior Vice President, Comcast Colorado
Scott is the Senior Vice President for Comcast in the Colorado Market. In this
position, Scott is responsible for all aspects of the company’s cable operations
in Colorado, serving about 700,000 video customers and 1800 employees.
Scott has been a cable operations leader for more than 15 years, managing
cable systems all across the country for Comcast and Time Warner. He began his
career as a CPA.
Scott is a graduate of the University of Nebraska and is on the boards of the
Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Metro Denver Sports Commission and is
President of Colorado Cable Television Association.
On the personal side, Scott stays active outside of work, participating in
three Hawaiian Ironman competitions and multiple competitive cross-country skiing
races. Scott and his wife, Teresa, have three children
Jim Crowe, CEO, Level 3 Communications
Mr. Crowe is Chief Executive Officer of Level 3 Communications, Inc., the first
international communications company to fully leverage the power of Internet
technology. Having assumed the leadership of Level 3's predecessor, a diverse
group of companies and holdings, in 1997, Mr. Crowe reshaped it into a single
company with a core focus o-n communications and information services.
Prior to assuming the leadership of Level 3, Mr. Crowe served as Chairman of
WorldCom, following that company's merger with MFS Communications Company in
1996. Prior to that, Mr. Crowe was CEO of MFS, a company he founded and took
public in 1993. At the time of its $14.3 billion merger with WorldCom, MFS was
the largest competitive local carrier in the U.S. and Europe. Mr. Crowe serves
o-n the Board of Directors of Level 3 Communications and Commonwealth Telephone.
Rich Grange, CEO, New Global Telecom
For over 20 years, Rich Grange has actively participated in pioneering telecom
services via entrepreneurial leadership including call back services, non-traditional
international wholesale terminations, legacy & next-gen network bridging
services, and VoIP services. As one of the founders and the Pres/CEO of New
Global Telecom, he has directed the strategic activities of the company since
inception in 1996 to its current market-leading position as the premiere wholesale-hosted
VoIP Services provider in the US.
Rich Grange began his telecommunications career in 1982 when he co-founded
and served as executive vice president and chief executive officer of TMC of
Colorado, a long distance reseller. After TMC of Colorado was sold to TelAmerica
in 1987, Mr. Grange founded and served as president and chief executive officer
of Meridian Telecom International, a provider of international call termination
and international operator services from 1995 to 1996. From 1994 until 1995,
he served also as president of Technology Resource Group, an international call
back carrier.
Oren Shaffer, Vice Chairman and CFO, Qwest
Oren G. Shaffer is vice chairman and chief financial officer of Qwest Communications
International Inc. Formerly, Mr. Shaffer was president and chief operating officer
of Sorrento Networks, a maker of optical products. From 1994 to 2000, he was
chief financial officer of Ameritech, where he was responsible for all of the
company's financial affairs.
Prior to joining Ameritech, Mr. Shaffer was president of Virgo Cap Inc., an
investment firm. From 1968 to 1992, he held increasingly senior executive positions
at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. He was most recently executive vice president,
chief financial officer and director. His 25-year career at Goodyear included
15 years of international experience, including chairman and chief executive
officer of Goodyear's operations in France.
Mr. Shaffer holds a Bachelor of Science in business administration from the
University of California at Berkeley and a Master of Science in management from
the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mr. Shaffer is o-n the board of directors of the Singapore Equity Fund and
the Japan Fund. He was awarded the "Chevalier de L'Order du Merite"
by former French President Francois Mitterand and "Commandeur de l'Ordre
de Merite du Grand-Duche de Luxembourg" by Jean Grand-Duc de Luxembourg,
Duc de Nassau.
About Denver Telecom Professionals
Denver Telecom Professionals is a nonprofit organization founded in 1998 to
meet the professional development and networking needs of its membership in
the telecommunications, cable and Internet profession in Colorado and the Rocky
Mountain region of the United States.
DTP’s associates include 2,500 telecommunications professionals in Colorado.
Half of DTP’s associates are drawn from large telecommunications providers and
the remaining half is drawn from smaller entrepreneurial communications companies.
For more information about the DTP, contact 2006 President Kelly Zunker at
kzunker@genesyslab.com, or visit
the organization’s website at www.telpros.org/denver.
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