Level 3 Co-Founder Steps Down

Level 3 Communications Inc. co-founder and President and COO Kevin OHara resigned from the company Monday. The move is effective immediately.

“Kevin O’Hara has worked closely with me for more than 20 years and this was obviously a difficult decision for both of us,” said Level 3 CEO Jim Crowe. “Kevin is one of the founders of our company and has made enormous contributions to its success. I want to personally thank him for his professionalism and commitment to our company over the many years we’ve been together. At this time, however, Kevin and I have agreed that a different perspective will be of benefit to our company.”

Neil Hobbs, Level 3s executive vice president of sales and network services, and Crowe will be assuming O’Hara’s responsibilities going forward, the company said. Crowe will become president.

Level 3 also said Sunit Patel will remain at the company as CFO. He announced in October that he was resigning but would stay on board until a replacement was found.

Level 3 has struggled to integrate a host of recent acquisitions and the moves may reflect that. The companys stock plummeted 14 percent Monday to a 52-week low of $1.87 a share.