Former XO Exec Joins EarthLink as VP of IT Solution Consultants

EarthLink Inc. announced that Thomas Hobika joined the company as vice president of IT Solution Consultants.

Hobika, based in EarthLink’s Pittsford, N.Y., office, is responsible for leading an expanded organization that has team members across the communications provider’s nationwide footprint.

A former executive with XO Communications, Hobika has roughly 18 years of experience in the telecom and IT industries, according to EarthLink. He most recently served as VP of XO’s Business Development, Complex Solutions, Sales Engineering and Program Management supporting the Carrier and Enterprise Services division.

When we decided to expand our ITSC organization and enhance the level of IT Services technical support across all distribution channels, Tom stood out as the ideal person to build and lead this new team,” said Mike Toplisek, EarthLink executive vice president of IT Services, in a statement July 26. Our IT Solutions Consultants bring critical expertise to our sales channels, which enables us to better serve customers with the custom-tailored IT solutions they need to drive efficiencies and value for their organizations.”

Atlanta-based EarthLink wants to capitalize on the rapidly growing IT services market. The nationwide IT spend by businesses totals $326 billion, according to EarthLink. In an investor presentation in early June, the company said its product portfolio would enable it to compete for $100 billion of the $177 billion market opportunity in the mid market/enterprise space.

For the skinny on EarthLink’s IT sales, check back with the company on Thursday for its second-quarter results.