Grande Names New CEO

Six months after CEO Bill Morrow resigned his post, Grande Communications has named a new head executive.

Grande, which sells services to consumers and businesses in Texas as well as national network services to enterprises and communications providers, said today it has named Roy Chestnutt to lead the company.

Chestnutt is a former senior vice president of Sprint Nextel, where he was responsible for the general business segment. He will take the reins next Monday, Feb. 13.

From what Ive witnessed so far, Grande is a strong company that has remained true to its values since the beginning, Chestnutt said. I look forward to working with the board, executive team and employee base to continue the success that has been achieved in such a short period by honoring the value system, leading through innovation, and making the occasional, yet necessary, shifts to remain strong in an increasingly competitive environment.

Chestnutt takes over from Scott Ferguson, who has served as interim CEO since July 2005. Ferguson will stay with Grande through the CEO transition period. Morrow remains on the board of directors.

Roy will be a tremendous asset to Grande with his abilities to build and lead high-performing teams, combined with his extensive sales and marketing experience. His skills will be critical to Grande as the company focuses more on organic customer growth, said Grande board chair James Mansour.

Grande Communications www.grandecom.com